Too little, never too late
by Empty Pen09
Summary: Future Fic.  Quinn Fabray now a successful Wall Street trader runs into Broadway star Rachel Berry and decides now may be the time to deal with her unresolved feelings for the Diva.  Unfortunately old habits get in the way.
1. Chapter 1

It was nearly seven thirty and I wasn't sure what I was still doing here. Rachel said she'd be here. She said we should meet up for drinks. I didn't really understand why she'd want to meet up with me. I'd tortured the poor girl in high school. I single handedly made her life miserable. Still when we ran into one another she greeted me like an old friend. She took down my number and passed hers on to me and within twenty four hours she was asking me to have drinks.

_She's not coming. We should just go. _My alter ego said.

I contemplated my predicament. She could have done this as an elaborate revenge plot. In her defense I wouldn't blame her. It was deserving. I could picture her now sitting in a taxi outside laughing at me. Deliciously taking in my nervous fidgeting with unrestrained jubilation. If I hadn't been such a bitch back then my feelings would be hurt. Rachel Berry surely had a score settle with me and if making me feel like a fool gave her closure who am I to deny her.

_Are we gonna just sit here like a fool? _

Despite both of us living in New York I hadn't seen Rachel in years. Well that wasn't exactly true. She hadn't seen me in years. I saw her quite a bit. I took in her Broadway shows regularly and when she was finally cast in her first leading role I was one of the first people in line to buy a ticket. I was a fan, practically a groupie. I did internet searches and read Broadway Magazine. When she finally made the cover I collected as many as I could and sent them to all of our old friends in Glee Club. Santana and Brittany, who lived together in Boston, had drawn a mustache and eye patch on her face and sent the magazine back to me. Just like old times.

_Okay, suit yourself. Sit here like a loser if you want. I'm gone. _

I ran into Rachel at Starbucks believe it or not. It was the first time since graduation that she'd laid eyes on me, despite my stalker-ish behavior I'd managed to avoid letting her see me. The last thing she needed was me getting in her face trying to talk about the good old days that we never had because I was such a bitch.

To my utter surprise Rachel was extremely happy to see me. At least it seemed that way. In retrospect, given my current situation, maybe not. Maybe I was right. Maybe this was a set up. I don't know though, her excitement seemed genuine. I didn't approach her, I figured I'd give her some space. Tons of space actually to pretend like she didn't see me. Speaking would have to be her choice. She had no reason to be nice to me and I didn't want to corner her and force her to have to smile at me through thin lips and clinched teeth. If she wanted to play the 'that looks like a girl I know, but it's not her game', I'd graciously oblige her. She'd earned it.

She didn't avoid me however. The moment she saw me she rushed to my side and wrapped her arms around me. She smelled like Jasmine and the scent made me lightheaded.

"Quinn. Quinn Fabray what are you doing here?"

I began to stutter. Can you believe that, I actually stuttered? You'd have thought this wasn't the same girl I used to draw dirty pictures of in the girl's bathroom or call Man-Hands to her face and behind her back.

_Pull it together loser. She's talking to us. _

"Rachel. Hi."

She didn't give me a chance to speak before she started talking. Same old Rachel.

"I can't believe I ran into you. I mean all this time living in the city together and we never see one another."

I had to do everything in my power to keep from coming off like some crazed fan and telling her about all the shows of hers I've gone to. "You're busy. I don't want to be that girl from back home hanging around all the time." As soon as I said the words I regretted them. This wasn't high school, it wasn't like she was one of the cool kids and I was some loser hanger on. She was a celebrity, but I wasn't a loser. I worked on Wall Street. I made a truckload of cash and lived on Park Avenue. Okay, not really on Park Avenue but close.

_Semantics. _

"Quinn don't be silly. I need a little slice of home." She took a commanding step towards the counter and ordered her drink with detailed demands. When she finished she looked back towards me, her brow crinkled in thought.

"I heard you're working at a bank."

"An investment bank actually. Stone Holder." I told her. Stone Holder was one of the biggest and most well known Investment banks in the world. Even if you didn't know anything about finance you've heard of it.

Rachel began to shake her head. "So you're not a bank teller?"

A teller? "No. Why would you think that? It's not that kind of bank." I told her.

"Brittany." She said still shaking her head. "She said you guys do practically the same thing."

_God do I miss that blonde airhead. She made life so fun. _

I wanted to laugh. Rachel knew better than to listen to Brittany. Brittany was a teller at a bank in Boston. She kept the job to make ends meet until Santana finished her residency. Santana had gone on to medical school, Brittany in tow, and was a few months away from graduation.

"No I handle investments and stock market stuff. It's pretty boring."

She nodded. "So your like one of these masters of the universe I keep hearing about?" She asked me.

_Yep._

"No, far from it. I'm very low on the totem pole."

She looked me over, taking in my expensive black suit and leather briefcase. "You look like you're doing okay." She walked off towards the register and slipped a bill to the cashier then pointed in my direction, informing the cashier my over priced coffee drink was on her. "We should have a drink together."

That was nearly a week ago and here I was sitting at a bar I've never been to before, drinking a twelve dollar drink, and trying to convince myself I wasn't being stood up. She wasn't coming. I felt myself deflate just a tad.

_Of course she's not coming. We were awful to her Quinn why wouldn't she want to get revenge?_

I sat quietly at the stool and pretended to watch the ballgame on TV. I could see a few men ogling me on the end of the bar. Sorry fellas barking up the wrong tree.

"Oh thank God your still here I thought for sure you'd have gone home." I heard over my shoulder. Rachel. Her voice was music to my ears. She didn't purposely stand me up.

"No, I'm not busy tonight." I wasn't busy most nights but that wasn't any of her business.

"I'm sorry I'm late I just had the worst day. I even let the battery die on my cell. Totally irresponsible."

The Rachel Berry I remembered was always punctual and never forgot to do the small things like charge her cell phone. She had even kept a little heart shaped note pad in her purse and wrote everything down. Looks like she'd changed a little.

She pulled a light jacket off her shoulders and practically threw cleavage in my face. Her conservative sweaters and plaid skirts with knee socks were also gone. She was wearing a sexy red dress that hugged every curve on her tiny frame. Instinctively my heartbeat quickened.

_Wow. Berry's got a nice rack. Was it that nice back in Lima? _

She leaned into me and kissed me lightly on the cheek as if I deserved it and finally made herself comfortable on the stool next to me. The men at the end of the bar were practically salivating now and I could see them working up their courage to come and speak to us. They weren't bad looking guys, cute and clearly successful New York types. One of them was wearing a Presidential Rolex that I knew for a fact cost nearly twenty grand. I knew this because everyone in my office wore Rolexes. Even the ladies. It was like high school all over again. Everyone had to have the same stuff and if you didn't you were snubbed.

Rolex boy made a point of flashing his wrist as he took a sip of his beer and smiled in our direction. As a subtle dismissal I flashed my Ladies Presidential Rolex as I took my sip. Upon sight of this his buddy laughed.

_Your not the only one with money jerk-off. _

"Maybe we should go get a table or something. It'll be more comfortable." Rachel told me. I was relieved, it was the easiest way to keep from showing my fangs while dismissing the guys down the bar.

She was out of her seat and grabbing my wrist before I could agree. We ended up sitting in a dimly lit corner booth. Once we were settled a waitress made her way over and Rachel ordered us another round of drinks. I'd been here early like an eager beaver and another drink would put me at my three drink a night maximum.

_Just because mom and dad are drunks doesn't mean we will be too. Drink up. _

Will you be quiet and let me handle this. I'm trying to pay attention to her.

"Can I be honest Quinn?" Rachel said leaning into me. She still smelled like Jasmine. I loved the smell of Jasmine on women, it was my kryptonite.

I nodded. "Sure."

"I've seen you before. At my shows. Opening night, you're always in the audience."

_I told you she'd catch you stalker._

Oh my God her stalker alert went off. My face turned a bright shade of red. I started to fumble through an explanation but she reached out and grabbed my hand.

"I always get your roses too. A dozen red roses with no card. Every opening night."

_Creepy. _

She stopped talking as the waitress dropped off the drinks. Once the woman walked away Rachel removed her hand from mine and took a sip.

"I always wait around for you to come backstage but you never come. You've never even tried to come backstage. I don't understand it. Why not?"

I shrugged. "I didn't think you'd want me to."

She laughed. "Because of high school you mean?" She ran her skinny fingers through her hair. "I don't hold that against you. It was high school Quinn. Hell, I would have tortured me too back then. I was quite annoying if I recall."

Did she just swear? I'd never heard Rachel swear before. At least not off stage. It made me tingle.

_I wonder what other bad habits she's picked up. _

"I think you're great by the way. I'm a huge fan."

She nodded. "I know." It wasn't said with arrogance like the old high school Rachel would have said it. It was said with confidence and familiarity. "I keep in contact with some of the Glee-clubbers. They told me you sent them all copies of Broadway Magazine when I made the cover. Mr. Schue even had his made into a poster and hung it in the Choir room. He and Mrs. Pillsbury came down a few months ago and we had dinner. He asked me about you."

Really? I emailed Mr. Schue all the time. "I'm sorry I missed them."

"He was under the impression we kept in touch. Why didn't you keep in touch with me?" She asked me.

_Because we're lame. _

I didn't have an answer. At least not a new one. I didn't think she'd want me around. I wouldn't if I were her. I was an evil and manipulative mini-sociopath. The only things important to me back then were reputation and making it out of Lima.

"Would you have seriously been my friend after all I'd done Rachel?"

She took another sip. "We're here aren't we?"

That was true. I pretended to drink my drink. "For what it's worth I'm sorry."

She dismissed my apology with a wave of her hand. She scooted closer to me in the booth and let her leg brush up against me. Her scent filled my nose and I found myself fighting the urge to scoot away from her. I didn't move. I got the impression she would have just followed me if I had anyway.

_If you run from her I'll kill you._

"How long have you been out?" She asked.

"Out of what?" My head was still swimming.

"Out. As a lesbian." She asked. Her voice held a hint of playfulness.

_No, out of Cocoa Puffs. Stupid. _

My jaw hit the floor. She could tell that by looking at me? "What makes you think I'm a lesbian?"

She laughed playfully. "I've always known you liked me. In school it used to scare me to death. That's why I was so afraid of you back then. I was scared you were going to drag me into some closet and have your way with me." She sipped again. "I would have so been your bitch if you'd have made a move." She started to laugh. "I used to have this fantasy about you." She started to shake her head. "No. I better not say that."

_NO. NO. NO. I told you she'd be into it. We could have nailed this chick years ago._

Rachel had fantasies about me? I really wanted to hear more about this. "No, tell me." I urged her.

She looked at me with puppy dog brown eyes. "No. It's too embarrassing. Besides you're not a lesbian right. You're not into it."

I shirked my shoulders. "I am. I'm super gay."

"Okay," she finally said. "I used to have this dream where the football guy who used to bully Kurt."

"Dave," I told her interrupting. "Dave Karofsky. Also gay by the way." I added.

She shook her head. "Of course he is. Homophobe. Well Dave would slushie me and you'd show up and take me into the shower room. You'd undress me, then you'd get naked and we'd take this long and sexy shower together. That's usually as far as it went because I had no mental reference to sex at that point."

_How many times did I say we should follow her into the shower? You suck._

That was nothing compared to the fantasies I used to have about her. We'd mentally had sex in every place and in every way I knew how back then. I didn't go one day without thinking about another way to make her scream out my name. I finally had to admit to something that I'd been hiding from everyone for almost ten years. "I was in love with you back then. But my craziness wouldn't allow me to process it. The more attracted to you I became the meaner I was to you. Mentally I was sabotaging myself. On the off chance you'd be into it, I had to make you hate me so much it would never happen. It took a lot of therapy to figure that one out."

_Bitch. Don't blame it on me. I wanted to have sex with her. You were the one who was scared._

Rachel nodded with understanding. "The meaner you were to me the hotter it made you seem. My own version of the bad girl. Nothing you did would have scared me off. I hid behind wanting to be your friend but I figured if we spent enough time alone you'd eventually make some kind of move. I was relentless in my pursuit to befriend you because of that. One night together, just you and me behind closed doors, and I knew I could make it happen." She laughed to herself. "I waited for you for so long you have no idea. I used every excuse in the book with Finn and Jesse to hold them off."

Wait, that didn't make sense. "What do you mean?"

She sipped again. "I wanted you to be my first. I wanted badly to lose my virginity to you."

_I hate you so much right now. If we'd have taken her virginity she'd still be ours right now._

Oh my God. Was she serious? "Are you serious?" I asked her.

She answered with a nod.

"Why didn't you.." I cut myself off. Of course she wouldn't have told me that. We were kids. I would have ran for the hills anyway. It never would have happened.

_Chicken shit._

"I was just a stupid girl. Anyway I moved to New York, met a nice boy and let it happen." She seemed to contemplate it then nodded. "My second first time was with a girl from one of my shows. She wined me and dined me for two months before I finally let her into my pants. She was sweet but she was way too serious. I had to break it off before she got hurt. She wanted a relationship and I wasn't into it. She swore she'd never speak to me again."

_Sounds like a girl who doesn't know a good thing staring her naked in the face._

"What about you? Of course there was Noah, then." She asked.

_This oughta be good._

Oh God was I really going to tell her about my first time? Seeing as how she had just told me, I was stuck. "Well I was in college before I finally stopped living a lie. I met a girl at the local chapter of my school's GLBT. We dated for six months before I slept with her. She was older, a grad student at the time. She finally moved to Chicago for work so we broke up. She's a lawyer now."

_She's a partner at her law firm. Making six figures. We'd be on easy street had you not screwed it up_.

Rachel nodded. "You dating anyone now?"

_Ha. We're a nun now didn't you know._

I wasn't, not since I'd broken up with Liz. "No. I was with somebody but we wanted different things. She wanted to be a stay at home mother. I can't imagine turning into my dad though. I loved her but I want to be with somebody who wants to do things. Has ambitions. Her ambitions were taking care of me. If I were the same selfish bitch I was in high school I'd have been thrilled. I mean who wouldn't want a trophy wife?"

_Us. Especially one who's lousy in bed. _

Rachel's curiosity seemed piqued. "So she was pretty?"

I nodded. Liz was an ex runway model. She'd never made the big time but she was gorgeous. The type of woman who stopped traffic.

"She was a model." I said doing my best not to seem like the guys from work. The guys at work all dated models. Unfortunately that was my fault. The moment they found out I was with a model they all started looking to date them. Even the straight women had trophy male models they used as playthings. Everything was about status at the office. The fact that I was a lesbian didn't matter in the slightest. My alter ego, high school Quinn, handled work. She was an evil shark that fit right in. My therapist said it was a healthy way to relieve aggression. I thought it was insane but it worked. I was a star in my circle of co-workers.

"So she's femme?" Rachel asked.

I laughed. "Yes. Total femme. Can you believe it? I'm the butch in my relationships."

_Hardly. Being a top doesn't make you butch._

Rachel nodded. "I totally believe it. Your more butch than most guys I know." She sipped. "I'm a femme in case you were wondering."

_She's going to let us into her pants I already know where this is heading. _

I could feel my face turning red once again. Was she flirting with me? My question was immediately answered by her hand suddenly resting on my thigh. What in the world was she doing? The contact was making me crazy. My heart began to pound and my palms began to sweat. I couldn't take it. This wasn't real.

"So tell me about your job. You work on Wall street."

I gathered my composure. "Yes. I went to NYU for undergrad and got into Stern Business School. Graduated first in my class and got a job at Stone Holder."

She squeezed my thigh forcing me to stifle a moan. "So your successful?"

"I'm doing okay. At least right now." I told her. The business world was fickle. The last thing I needed was to get a big head. One wrong move and I was out on the street.

_Don't worry about work, I got that covered._ _Concentrate on Berry's rack._

"Where do you live? You live in the city?" Rachel asked.

Here we go with pretentious admission number one. "I live in Manhattan. On the upper East Side." I practically whispered it.

_Don't say it like that. Our apartment is a total panty dropper. _

Rachel seemed impressed by the admission. "Really."

_Told you._

Okay defuse the self glorification. "Yeah, expectations are high at the job. They want you to project a certain image. It's not all it's cracked up to be believe me. You should see how some of these people live."

"I live in Chelsea."

"I hear it's nice there. Welcoming." I'd considered moving someplace more conducive to my lifestyle but I'd never hear the end of it at work. They'd take me as some sort of activist.

_Some tree hugging, non shaving, money hater is more like it. _

Rachel sipped. "It's great. You ever been?"

I had actually. I'd often go down on the weekends to shop and look around. It was my treat to myself after acting like an asshole during the week at work.

"I've visited."

"Want to see my apartment?" She asked me. It wasn't at all subtle.

_What did I tell you? She wants us. _

I swallowed hard. "I'd love to see your place."

~Rachel's~

She didn't give me a tour. Instead of showing me around her place she led me straight to her living room and attacked me. She showered me with kisses and let her hands roam my body. The second her hand squeezed my ass I wished I had shot gunned that last drink. A buzz would be nice. I needed help. I couldn't do this alone. I called upon that part of myself that took control of things. High School Quinn, or as my therapist liked to call her HSQ, my alter ego.

Okay. I need you to handle this.

_Finally_.

I pushed my doubts and insecurities out of my mind and decided to let things happen. Okay, it was strange that we hadn't spoken in years and here we were making out in her apartment but so what. I'd known her forever. It wasn't wrong. I'd fantasized about having sex with her a thousand times. I was just nervous. I could fix that.

I decided to take the initiative and while she kissed my neck I let high school Quinn take control. HSQ was much more aggressive than I was and the first thing she did was unzip Rachel's dress.

Slow down! I protested.

_Shut up you coward. We've been dreaming of nailing this chick since we were fourteen._

I know but don't scare her off. I told her.

_Shut up and let me work. I'm not going to let you ruin this for us. If you could do anything on your own you wouldn't have called me. Now sit back and enjoy it._ HSQ demanded.

Rachel didn't protest my aggressiveness. She stepped out of the dress and nibbled my earlobe. I pulled her face to my mouth and kissed her hard. It was every kiss I'd wanted to give her over the years all at once. Strong, forceful, and controlled.

She moaned and I felt her knees buckle just a bit.

_See. _HSQ gloated. _She wants this. She wants us to screw her brains out. Watch this._

I felt myself reach for her bra and unclasp it. Rachel leaned back just enough to give me a full view of her uncovered breasts. I put my mouth to them, letting my tongue roam her nipples, exploring her body in a way I'd longed to do since I'd first met her.

_WE ARE GODS! _HSQ told me.

But we aren't even undressed. I said.

_Figure it out Fabray. _She told me. _It's not brain surgery. Get naked already._

"Let's take this to your bedroom. We're gonna need a bed." I told Rachel.

I could see Rachel's head was still swimming. "Uh, okay." She told me.

I followed her to her bedroom intent to finish something I'd wanted to start over ten years ago. "I hope you don't have to get up early." I teased.

She shook her head. "No."

"Good because we have a lot of things to finish me and you."

~Home that next morning~

I woke up in my own bed. What the hell? Don't tell me it was a dream. NO! Goddamnit!

_Calm down crybaby it wasn't a dream. _HSQ said.

Why are we home?

_I brought us home last night. We don't sleep over when we have a one night stand. This isn't Ohio, people are crazy here._

It was Rachel you idiot. She's not going to steal our wallet or lock us in her dungeon.

_Maybe. _HSQ said.

I wanted to stay over. You ruined it.

_You know what, I was trying to help you. I'll see you tomorrow at work crybaby._

"Damn." I uttered softly.

My message light was blinking on my phone on the night stand. I brought it to life. It was a text from Rachel.

_**Where did you go? **_The message was left almost an hour ago.

I responded quickly. _**Home. Sorry. **_

_**You left your panties on my floor**_**. **Shesent back to me right away.

HSQ stopped hiding and took over again.

_**I wanted an excuse to come back over in the future**__. _I typed.

Rachel responded with a smiley face. Then followed it up with two words. **C**_**all me.**_

_**I will. **_I responded then laid my phone on my nightstand. Anything more and I'd be sure to ruin it.

_Happy now crybaby? HSQ asked me. _

Extremely.

**First off I have to give credit to a great writer, Stix04, who's story, I'll Be, is the inspiration for this. Her internal Quinn and Rachel dialog did something to my creative juices that I just couldn't ignore. So even if this story is jumbled and maybe a tad confusing please understand I couldn't not write it. I assume you all understand. That being said I want to assure you Quinn isn't crazy in this fic. Her mental process is just a tad different than normal. Either way I hope you're entertained. **


	2. Chapter 2

_Do not call her. I swear you'll wreck the whole thing if you call her now._

You don't get to tell me what to do. You're the one who ruined things. All you had to do was leave us in the bed. We could have woke up the next morning and made love to her again. You just decided on your own to take us home.

_Did you just say make love? We had sex with her. We didn't make love to her. We made love to Cheryl before you sent her to Chicago._

Will you stop complaining about Cheryl. We didn't love Cheryl. So what she's a lawyer and she's rich, it doesn't change anything.

_And beautiful, and great in bed. And she did that thing with her tongue._

I remember the tongue thing, you don't have to rehash it for me.

_Don't I? You keep saying sex isn't important._

I never said that. I said I want to be in love.

_We've never actually been in love remember. We're incapable of it. We had to pretend. That's why Cheryl was the best we could ask for. She was perfect for us, she never pushed us to talk about our feelings. She was nice to us and she had her own money. We could have been happy with her. Plus Chicago is closer to home. It's closer to our friends. _

What friends? The only friends we have are Santana and Brittany. And we only see them on Holliday's. Nobody in Lima can be considered our friends anymore.

_Fine, call her if you want. Watch her make an excuse so she doesn't have to see us._

She won't do that.

_It's only been four days since we've seen her. We have to wait at least a week or she's going to think we want a relationship. _

We do want a relationship.

_Speak for yourself._

I dug my phone out of my pocket and tracked down Rachel's number. My stomach was in knots, my hands sweating. Why was this so hard? I knew Rachel. I've known her since I was fourteen. Why was it so hard to call her? Especially now. It was supposed to be easier now that we'd had sex wasn't it?

Rachel was probably rehearsing. I knew from my internet stalking that she was working on a new show. Birds in Winter. I wasn't sure what it was about but it opened in two weeks and I already had my tickets lined up. One of the perks of stalking my high school crush at her Broadway shows was the ability to score good seats as a serious theatre enthusiast.

_Serious, ha. You don't even know what half of those shows were about. _

I never said I did. I just like hearing Rachel sing.

_You are so pathetic. Go ahead and call her so she'll see how big of a loser you are._

I dialed the phone with defiance. She was probably busy with rehearsal so I could leave her a nice message telling her how much fun I had the other night and offer to take her to dinner. After that the ball would be in her court. That's what we needed, a date. A real date to get things back on track.

The phone rang once and to my horror she answered it. She wasn't supposed to answer. What was I gonna say? This wasn't right. This wouldn't work.

"Hey you. I was hoping you'd call. I'm all wound up in knots. I'd would love to see you tonight. You know, to relieve some of this tension." Rachel said.

_Ha. Doesn't sound like she wants a relationship to me. She wants sex. Ha Ha._

Shut up. It's not funny. I don't understand it. Does she not like us?

_Of course she does. We rocked her world the other night. You were too much of a chicken to hang around but remember how we always said we'd make her spell our name with her tongue when we were younger? Did it._

Will you stop it. I'm serious.

"Hey Rach. I was just checking in." I said, doing my best cool and calm voice.

She wanted no part of my small talk. "Give me your address. I'm coming over tonight." She said. It sounded like an order and I obeyed.

"Maybe we can grab some food or something too." I threw out in desperation.

"Uh, sure. I guess we can eat." She said.

_Ha ha. She doesn't want to eat with us. You sound so desperate. _

"Good. We can just grab some take out." I asked. "Are you still a vegan?"

"Wow I'm surprised you remember that." She said.

_Are you kidding. Nutso here remembers everything about you. She still daydreams about the time she saw your panties in Glee club._

"How can I forget. I had to learn what a vegan was because you always talked about it. We ate normal food at my house growing up." I said.

She laughed. "Yes I am actually. I'm still a vegan."

_Great. Now we have to find vegan takeout. _

"I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I had so much fun the other night. I've been dreaming of that night forever. It was everything I needed it to be." She said.

"Me too. I'm sorry I bailed."

"It was a little weird you not saying goodbye but I get it. You want to keep things casual. I understand."

No. I don't want to keep anything casual. I want to try to make this work. See where it goes. She's the only person I've ever really had any kind of feelings for, I told myself. Of course I didn't have the guts to say it out loud and HSQ wasn't onboard so she didn't say it for me.

"Casual's very good." I heard myself say.

Why did you say that?

_That wasn't me that was you. _

Oh my God it was me. I did say it.

"Well I can do casual. And tonight I'm going to casually come over, rip your clothes off and make you mine." She said.

"That sounds like fun."

~Home~

"I can't believe they're still together. I mean in high school I didn't get it and as the years continue to pass it makes even less sense to me." I said before taking a small bite of my salad.

"Really. You're seriously surprised they've stayed a couple?" Rachel asked me.

She'd come over to my place as promised, and despite making it perfectly clear she was just using me for my body she hadn't broached the subject of sex yet. Instead we'd sat down, ate salad and talked about old times.

"They have nothing in common."

She let her fork drop to her plate. "You're crazy. They have everything in common. You didn't grow up with us so you don't know. They've always been that way. They lived in their own little world. When you met them they were weird to you but nobody else thought twice about it because they've always been that way with each other. Brittany told our whole third grade class that they were going to get married one day. It goes back that far Quinn."

"Look, I love Santana to death. She's my best friend. Even after all these years. But I don't see what Brittany sees in her. She's a terrible person. She hasn't changed at all. She's a narcissist and an ego maniac. Being a doctor is going to make her totally unbearable."

Rachel laughed. "She's always been that way." Rachel said as she grabbed her fork off her plate and began twirling it in her fingers. "Santana is a totally different person with Brittany though. I walked in on them in the bathroom once during senior year. Brittany was reading her the riot act about something and Santana just stood there and took it. She looked like a scolded puppy. Brittany's totally in control of the Pierce-Lopez house."

That I didn't believe. "No way. Nobody yells at Santana. Not without getting punched."

Rachel nodded. "Brittany can. She's the only person who can chop Santana down to size."

"So they make sense to you?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Don't forget they were voted most likely to grow old together by our entire senior class. It was unanimous. Apparently everybody thinks they make sense together. They've been each other's whole world for so long that if you told me they broke up I'd probably cry. Then I'd try to find a way to get them back together. Knowing that they found love in the first grade and it's lasted gives me hope that one day I'll find Mr. or Mrs. Right."

_Ask her if she's looking for him or her right now._

No. I'm not saying that.

_Why not? It's the perfect time to find out where her head is. _

No.

_Do you want to be her girlfriend or not?_

Fine.

"So are you looking for him or her right now?" I asked. I felt stupid asking the question but HSQ was right. It was the perfect opportunity to shake her down for information.

Rachel shrugged. "I'm more ready to meet them now than I was, say, five years ago."

What does that mean?

_How the hell am I supposed to know?_

"So is that a yes?" I asked her.

Rachel shrugged. "It's a maybe. I'm not opposed to a real relationship if the right person comes along. Until then I like this. No frills, no lying, no expectations."

But we want frills, lying, and expectations. Help me. Say something to fix it so she'll fall in love with us.

_What am I supposed to say? I got nothing._

God you're no help.

"I think I may be getting close. The more I date around the more I see I want somebody special in my life." I said.

_God that's pathetic. We really should work on your game. You are super lame._

Shut up. I was being honest.

"I thought you had a few opportunities come up and you sound like you passed on them." Rachel said.

_What is she our shrink now?_

"Those girls were wrong for me. Cheryl was great. She'll make somebody the perfect partner one day, just not me. And Liz wasn't right for me either. She was looking for somebody to take care of her."

"What's wrong with wanting to be taken care of? I want somebody to take care of me one day. Believe it or not Broadway alone isn't enough to make me happy." She said. She took a nibble of her salad and let her eyes linger on her plate.

_Tell her we'll take care of her. We're rich, or we will be in a few years. Super rich._

I'm not saying that. Didn't you just call me lame for telling her the truth a second ago?

_Yeah but if we're going to be lame we may as well be lame with Berry sitting on our…_

Okay, okay, stop it right there.

"Are you unhappy?" I asked her. I wasn't about to throw the kitchen sink at her. This seemed like a healthy compromise. "Being alone I mean."

"What kind of doctor is Santana going to be? Brittany said she was going to be a pedicurist."

She's avoiding the question. She's miserable. Quick say something witty.

_No problem. I got this._

I leaned into her and stroked her cheek. "You don't have to be alone if you don't want to be. There's always room for you in my bed."

What? THAT'S what you came up with. That's not witty, it's sleazy. We sound like a poorly written porn movie.

Rachel's hand met mine on her cheek. "Can we not talk anymore. I really want to just lay back and forget everything for a while."

I nodded. "We don't have to say a word. Come with me to my bedroom. I'll take good care of you. Nothing else will matter."

Instead of answering me she leaned into me and kissed me. Her kiss was so soft it sent butterflies through my stomach. My body began to tingle and I felt her hand brush my stomach.

"Promise me you won't hurt me Quinn." She said as she pulled away from my lips.

_Does she mean sexually because I plan on putting a hurtin' on her tonight?_

"I'm not going to hurt you Rachel. You're safe with me."

She pulled herself off her chair and began to unbutton her white silk blouse. "I'm ready for bed."

_Do you want me to…_

No. I can handle it this time.

~Morning~

"A Pediatrician, not a pedicurist. She's a pediatrician. At least she will be after her residency."

Rachel was in the midst of brushing her teeth and looked over her shoulder at me with confused eyes. She'd borrowed my tooth brush and had just climbed out of the shower when I stepped into the room and answered her question from last night. She was wearing my robe but hadn't tied it. Unfortunately for me she was already wearing her bra and panties.

"What?" She asked. She had no idea what I was talking about.

"Santana. She's going to be a Pediatrician."

Rachel went back to brushing her teeth then rinsed her mouth out under the faucet. "I can't believe Santana is a doctor. It's just insane."

I'd thought the same thing at first. Santana didn't seem like the nurturing type. She was selfish and arrogant. I was actually shocked she didn't want to become a surgeon. Her personality screamed surgeon. When I asked her about it she told me it would be too tough on Brittany. Becoming a surgeon would take another five to ten years at least. It would be too stressful and too much time away from home.

"She's always been smart. I'd trust her with my kids." I said.

"And they live in Boston. Why Boston?"

I laughed. Same old Rachel, if it didn't involve singing and dancing she didn't know anything about it.

"Harvard Medical School." Santana didn't do things half way. She'd graduated from one of the most well known medical school's in the country. If she managed to keep out of trouble she'd make a really good career for herself.

"Are they staying in Boston?"

"No. They're moving back to Ohio. To Cleveland actually so Santana can finish her residency at the Cleveland Clinic. It's supposed to be a really good hospital. It's only an hour away from Lima. Santana doesn't like the idea of Brittany being home alone all the time since she'll be at the hospital for like a hundred hours a week. It's closer to both their families."

Rachel walked towards me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

That wasn't exactly an accident. Whenever Rachel made a move to get out of bed I climbed back on top of her for more sex. Finally she was too tired and it was too late for her to go home. I rounded out this morning with a quickie. To further seal the deal that my house was the place to be I brought her orange juice and a muffin. She responded by claiming she didn't want to leave and that I was spoiling her. The comment gave me a little comfort.

"Mi casa es su casa." I said.

_El Lame-o._

She responded by kissing me on the cheek. "I better get going or I'll make you late to work." She told me. She moved her kiss to my lips quickly and with familiarity that made my heart flutter and she walked past me towards the bedroom to get dressed.

"We should do this again." I threw out like a fishing net.

She looked over her shoulder towards me and nodded. "Yeah?"

Of course yeah. I have fourteen years worth of fantasies to fulfill. "When does your new show start again?" I asked. I already knew the answer but it would be super creepy for me to quote something so random out of the blue.

"Two weeks."

"Good how about Saturday night? We'll make a night of it. Eat again. Watch a video or something."

She was momentarily stopped in her tracks. Just as quickly she was moving again, continuing on her way to my bedroom.

"Friday would be better." She offered.

_What was that? That hesitation?_

You saw that too?

_Of course. She did everything but say, uh oh._

I wanted to know what was going on but I didn't want to pry. We were having sex but I didn't have any right asking her about her personal business. We weren't anywhere near that point yet.

"You got a hot date Saturday night?" I asked. My voice although playful masked my terror.

Rachel sat down on the edge of my bed and grabbed her black slacks off the floor. "I have plans with Luke."

Luke. Who the hell is Luke?

"Anything fun." I don't know how I wasn't screaming at the top of my lungs.

She looked up at me as she slid her pants on. "Nothing important. Dinner, normal stuff."

I nodded. "He won't wonder where you were last night?"

She shook her head with confidence. "No. God no. He's not that kind of boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Did she just say she had a boyfriend? I thought she wasn't ready for a relationship. She lied to us. She just doesn't want one with us.

_No. Quinn don't. Don't, that's not what she said. She said maybe she might be ready. _

Clearly she's ready, she has a boyfriend. She really IS just using us for sex.

_Hey, stop it. Don't do this, this Luke guy isn't serious either or she wouldn't be here with us now._

I held off a flurry of sniffles. I felt like crying.

_Don't you dare start crying. She'll never respect us if we cry. _

But she has a boyfriend. She's doesn't want us. She wants this Luke guy. We're a toy.

_Stop it. She said she's looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right, not that she found him already. Relax._

She probably told him she was coming over here and he probably didn't care. We're not even a booty call. We're back up booty. He probably thinks we're pathetic. He's probably laughing at us right now.

"Son of a bitch." I said.

The comment startled her. She snapped her head in my direction and her eyes zeroed in on me. I could see the confusion in her face, the questions on the tip of her tongue.

_Don't you dare let her know that our feelings are hurt. Don't you dare._

"Are you okay Quinn?" She asked me.

I gathered my courage. Fix this. Talk to her for us. Save our dignity.

_Gladly. _

"Yeah, it's just my contacts. I forgot to refill my prescription. I may have to wear my glasses to work today. I'm going to look like an idiot."

She went back to getting dressed. "You look cute in glasses Lucy."

My chest was too heavy to respond. I needed a few minutes alone to get myself together. I watched her take her time with her shoes then slowly button her shirt and did my best to stay strong. When she walked over to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek I almost pulled away out of spite.

"Friday night. You and me." She said.

"Friday's all mine. You better get some rest on Thursday because you're gonna need it." I said.

She smiled. "Just when I think you haven't changed much you surprise me. You really are very different Quinn. I'm amazed at how different you are."

I smacked her ass. "I just grew up."

She nodded. "I guess so." She gave me another kiss, this time on the lips and walked away. "See you Friday."

"Get some rest." I yelled out as she walked through the door and pulled it shut behind her.

Thanks for that.

_Don't mention it._

~Work~

After taking care of all my pressing morning business and making my pertinent phone calls I took a few minutes to try to track down information on my competition. Luke. Who named their kid Luke?

_Evil Jedi's. People with Cool Hands._

I typed Rachel's name into Google and followed it with Luke. A last name would have been good, It didn't matter. When I hit the search button I was graced with over a million hits. The first item told me everything I needed to know. It was worse than I thought. The headline broke my heart.

Broadway star Rachel Berry dating Luke Rafferty.

_Luke Rafferty? We're toast._

Luke Rafferty was a newly minted A list movie star. I clicked on the photo and wanted to puke. It was a professionally shot photo of the two of them at the at the Tony awards. He was amazingly handsome. The kind of handsome that made you think he couldn't possibly be a real person. They were even holding hands in the photo. Fingers intertwined like star crossed lovers. I wanted to be sick.

"Damn he's hot." I heard over my shoulder.

My boss and self dedicated mentor, Marjorie 'Margo' Taite, had snuck up on me, again. The woman was like a ninja. I hated her sometimes. She always seemed to show up when I was fooling around on the computer. To show her I was competent in my job I handed a folder.

"My projections." I said. She took it from me and sat it on the edge of the desk. This was a social call. She was here to check in and goof off for a few minutes. Nice.

Margo was only a few years older than me but she had moved up the ladder faster than anyone before her. After reporting to her for a year the woman decided to take me under her wing and guide me through the corporate world. Since she'd been schooling me I'd doubled my yearly bonus and was getting the attention of the big suits upstairs. Margo had even suggested that when she moved up to the next corporate rung I'd move up with her in a position similar to the one she currently held. That move would make me rich. I'd make more money than my father ever had. I'd officially be a success. A self made success.

"Is that the Broadway girl your obsessed with?" She asked me. Great, now even she thought I was pitiful. The last thing I needed was to show weakness at the job, especially to Margo.

"Yeah it's her. I finally sealed the deal, got her to forgive me for all the crap I pulled when we were in high school and this morning at my place she tells me she has a boyfriend. Just casually mentions it like it's nothing. Then to make things a hundred percent worse I Google the guy and he's a fucking movie star."

Margo's eyes widened with interest. "You sealed the deal?"

I nodded. "Yeah last night was a repeat. We had drinks Saturday night which turned into us going back to her place."

Margo smiled and looked across the room towards a group of guys who were standing around a TV watching CNBC. "Every one of you bastards owes me five hundred bucks." She screamed at the top of her lungs. The guys moaned in unison.

"Damnit Quinn, tell me you didn't nail that Broadway chick." One of the guys screamed out at me.

"Yeah, but I don't get to keep her. She's dating that doofus Luke Rafferty. That guys a total cock block."

"Get the fuck out of here. You slept with Luke Rafferty's girlfriend?" Someone screamed.

"The guy's got an unfair advantage. I'm already behind the eight ball in the penis department. And you add in the fact that the guy can introduce her to Angelina Jolie and I'm sunk."

Margo touched my shoulder. "Quinn you got the girl. So what you don't get to keep her. You caught your white whale, Moby Dick gets away at the end anyway. Just enjoy the small victory and move on. There's gotta be some other Broadway star you can get naked." Margo despite being a creeper was the coolest boss I ever had. An example was the fact that she bet on me to get Rachel into bed while the boys had obviously bet against me. They won't be doing that again.

Bragging doesn't feel right.

_Shut up. I handle work, you get everything else._

Since I had their attention I didn't let up. "I'm going to reload the gun. She's coming over Friday. Saturday she has a date with Luke the cock block. I'm going to wreck her Friday night. She won't be able to get out of bed until her date Saturday night."

The boys across the room started to cheer.

Margo laughed. "You don't like to lose do you?"

_Fuck no._

"I don't like losing to some pretty face and empty head. Midnight Drug Runner sucks balls."

Margo nodded. "I hate that artsy crap too." Luke Rafferty's latest movie Midnight Drug Runner was the talk of the town. I'd seen it a few weeks ago and hated it. There wasn't even any action. It was all talking. I thought the movie was awful but the critics hadn't asked me for my opinion.

I closed the picture of Rachel and Luke on my monitor and brought back up my trading screens. "I need to make some money."

"Money always helps. Track me down at lunch time. You just made me four grand. The least I can do is buy you lunch."

"See you then boss." I told her. Margo stood up and walked away. She even forgot the list of projections I'd tried to give her. She clearly didn't feel the need to check up on me. She trusted me. At least I was important to somebody. That was cool at least.

And exactly what did we accomplish by doing all that bragging? We look like a jerk.

_We look like a big jerk and these guys like big jerks. We're Kings here. We just bagged our white whale, slept with a movie star's girlfriend, and made our boss four grand all in one fell swoop. And let's not forget she bet that we'd actually succeed. She has faith in us. She's got millions of dollars in the bank and she took us under her wing. We have to let her know she's betting on a winner. She's gonna run this place one day and she's gonna need a good number two. You want to be a nice person outside the office, fine. I let you do things your way. You want to get rich and have a career, you listen to me. That was our deal._

Fine. But no more crap about Rachel. She's mine.

_Whatever. Rachel isn't yours, she's ours. I love her too you can't just call dibs._

I knew it. I knew you loved her.

_Screw you Quinn. You suck._


	3. Chapter 3

I think I should just her ask her about Luke. How can I pretend that he isn't important?

_That's a stupid idea. What if she tells us to mind or own business. Or worse. What if she tells us the truth? What then genius? Do you really want to hear about how much she loves him?_

I watched with lust filled eyes as Rachel slung her jacket over my Italian leather easy chair. She was dressed in a tight form fitting black dress that barely reached her mid thigh. The dress clung tightly to her firm ass and the flatness of her stomach was starting to turn me on. My body began to respond and I felt myself start to throb with need.

Why does she dress like this, to torture us?

_I like it. She looks sexy._

"Have I told you how nice your place is? I know you work on Wall Street and everything but I still can't believe somebody from Lima can afford all of this. It looks like something you'd find in a magazine. Or a rap video." She said taking a careful look around.

_MC Quinnie-G. _

She was right about the magazine though. It was Home and Garden actually. I'd hired a designer to come furnish and decorate it. It cost me an arm and a leg but it was worth it. People loved it. Despite my reluctance to admit it the place WAS a panty dropper. HSQ was right about that. Women came over and immediately got naked.

_Do you know how much action we could be getting if you weren't such a damn Girl Scout?_

Be quiet, what are we a Gigolo now? We aren't sleeping with somebody just because they'll let us. Who does that? Sleep with a stranger just because they can?

_Not us apparently. _

Rachel walked over to the window and stared out at New York City. The view was the sole reason I'd bought the place. The New York skyline glowed outside the window making the wall of glass separating the apartment and the night sky seem invisible. I heard you could see out but people couldn't see in.

"It's home. Your place is nice too. Although I did expect a little more with you being famous and all." I told her.

Rachel's place was spacious but extremely low key. When she made it big on Broadway I expected her to go out and buy something large and expensive. Something to show all the doubters that she'd succeeded. Instead she lived like the rest of New York, comfortable and typically low key. Her wardrobe was the only thing it appears she's spent money on.

"I'm a performer. My home is on the stage. Besides, Broadway isn't like Hollywood. I don't get paid ten million dollars a show. And even if I did, the money I make has to last me a long time. You never know where your next job is going to land. Tomorrow, next year, or never."

_God that sucks. Glad I made us get that Accounting degree now aren't you? Speaking of work._

"Where do you keep your money? Are you invested in the stock market?"

God will you stop working?

_Hey we're trying to get rich here. _

"I had an investment guy. He was okay but he got some kind of promotion and he passed my account on to somebody else. I didn't like the new guy. For the past year or so I haven't put any more money into my trading account. And I don't like talking to him so I stopped calling."

And the idiot doesn't call her? Clients like Rachel may not be big fish but they were loyal and they had a steady stream of income. There were very few 'whales' in the trading world. There was only one Warren Buffet, and he didn't need representation.

"What do you do with your money if your not putting it into your trading account?" I asked her.

_God don't let her be stuffing it under her mattress or putting it in coffee cans. _

She shrugged. "I just put it in the bank."

"You shouldn't keep large sums of money in your account at the local bank. A savings account maybe, but never your checking. It's subject to all sorts of garnishments and fines, most of the time somebody can sue you and take the money right out of your account without your approval."

"Really. I didn't know that. I need to go to the bank on Monday." She said. The news seemed to concern her. Had she not learned any financial survival skills?

I nodded. "Yeah. You should only keep two or three months worth of expenses in your checking account. Maybe some loose cash for new boots or something but not more than that."

She looked away from me almost embarrassed.

"Wait. How much is in there now?"

"Eighty seven thousand dollars."

I almost spit the water I was drinking across the room. Eighty seven grand. In her checking account?

_She knows nothing about money. She only cares about singing and dancing. She's an artist not a finance wizard. We have to help her._

"Rachel that's way too much. How much do you have in your savings?"

"About the same. I thought you were supposed to keep them equal. I put half of what I earn in one and half in the other."

"And your trading account?"

She shrugged. "Last I checked there was three hundred and fifty thousand dollars or so."

"When was that? When was the last time you checked?"

"About a year ago."

_Oh no, and her broker isn't calling her. Does she even have that money still? If her broker stole it I'm going to kill him. I'm going to cut his eyelids open and make him watch Jersey Shore reruns._

Don't freak out. Say something work-y. That's what you do right? Your supposed to be this kick ass Wall Street trader. Impress her. Or are you only worried about impressing your co-workers with stories about how we had sex with her.

_I can impress her. _

"I'll tell you what. I'm going to talk to somebody at the firm. I think you should change investment firms. I'll make some calls. I want to make sure you're being properly taken care of. I don't think you really need a broker, I think you need an Asset manager. He'll be more concerned with making sure you're taken care of long term instead of making you rich. I assume you don't want to lose the money you have more than you want to get rich."

She nodded then smiled playfully. "I thought you said you didn't want to take care of me."

"I said I didn't want to take care of Liz. I never said I wouldn't take care of YOU."

She walked over to me and planted herself in my lap on the sofa. "I'd feel much better with you looking after my money."

"I can't actually do the work. It wouldn't be ethical."

Her smile turned into a fake frown. "Why because we've made love?"

Oh my God. Oh my God. She said we made love. Did you hear her, she said we made love! It wasn't just sex to her.

_Calm down. Calm down. She was probably just being nice. Maybe she didn't want to be crude._

Why bring it up if she didn't mean it?

"Something like that. Making love blurs the lines. I couldn't be objective." I responded.

She gave my neck a few soft kisses. "I was sure I'd be ravished by now."

"Oh you will be. You'll be completely ravished all night. But first I better get you fed and hydrated. Safety first you know."

_Oh God we're going to make her squeal tonight. I can't wait. _

"Well I better get to drinking. Safety first." She told me.

~Morning~

As much as I hated sharing I wanted Rachel to hate it even more. We spent all night in bed getting her nice and worn out for her date with her Hollywood boy toy. Every dirty and kinky thing that came to mind I did my best to explore. And fortunately for me she seemed up for anything. She was so much fun, it was two in the morning before either of us even entertained the idea of going to sleep.

I was extremely proud of myself. As promised I put her to bed completely exhausted after exploring her body like Magellan. I committed every curve, every slight perfect imperfection to memory and saved it all for posterity. Having her was almost too good to be true.

The poor thing was tuckered out. It was almost eleven and she was still snoring away in bed. Comfortable I'd done enough sexual damage to her small body I made a fresh pot of coffee and leafed through this month's issue of fortune magazine.

I woke up early today filled with nervous energy. I'd already made a half dozen calls, read the newspaper, and spent about fifteen minutes on the phone speaking with Margo talking about Rachel's account and figuring out the best way to handle it. The firm Rachel invested with were a bunch of cowboys. The kind of cowboys where money ruled all.

_It's Wall Street. Money rules all everywhere. _

Well at least we aren't encouraged to do anything that almost skirted the rules at our firm. God forbid we go to prison or something. We're here to make money and move to Park Avenue and get a chauffeured car. We are not here to become some lifer's bitch in jail.

My cell phone buzzed on the table. "Hello." I answered quickly.

"Hey Gordon Gecko tell Jeeves down here to let us up." I heard someone say. Santana? Was that Santana? Did she say let her up? Was she downstairs? What was Santana doing here?

No! No, what's she doing here?

_We can't let her up here. She's going to ruin everything._

We can't leave her downstairs.

_Sure we can, we can hang up the phone_.

"Hi Quinn. Surprise. We're here to see you." Brittany said.

"What are you doing here Brittany?" I asked. I could ignore Santana but never Brittany. Brittany was too much of a sweetheart to treat badly. Besides Santana would be furious if I mistreated her girlfriend.

"Duh, we're here to surprise you. Once Santana graduates we're moving away. We won't get to see you anymore. I thought it was a good idea that we come see you now. We have big news."

Santana yelled in the background. "Tell her to let us upstairs already."

Brittany handed the phone off to the doorman and I briefly entertained the idea of not letting them upstairs. It would solve the immediate problem but I knew Santana and she wouldn't leave. She'd hang out in the lobby all day if she had to.

After giving the order to let them up I rushed to my bedroom and peeked inside. Rachel was still snoring and I dreaded her waking up to find Brittany and Santana here. Things were going smoothly and as soon as Santana saw her coming out of my bedroom she'd start asking questions. Rachel shifted comfortably on the bed, moaned, then continued her snoring. Her bare thigh was peeking out from under the blanket and my insides stirred.

_Damn is she hot._

Stop it. I don't have time to be horny. We had sex several times last night. Don't we have a limit?

_With Berry? Nope. _

The knocking boomed through the whole apartment. I walked slowly through the bedroom door and pulled it closed behind me. I got myself psyched up and took a deep breath. Okay I could do this. Talk to them, listen to their news, and get them to a hotel. A half hour I could have them out in a half hour. I was pretty sure I'd tuckered Rachel out enough to make it thirty minutes.

Brittany was standing in the doorway the second I opened the door and with enthusiasm I hadn't realized I missed she wrapped her arms around me. She looked the same, bright, bubbly, with innocent pretty blue eyes. I missed her so much. She was always one of the best parts of my day back in Lima. Well, besides seeing Rachel.

"Quinn, you look so great." She said.

"Damn I forgot how pimp this place is. You must get all kinds of ass in here. Imagine Puckerman in this place. It would be wall to wall floozies." She turned her attention to Brittany. "I'm gonna buy something like this for you one day baby. Get you that whirlpool bath tub you keep talking about." Santana said stepping through the door. She was lugging a heavy suitcase on wheels.

Her hair was shorter since I saw her last. She kept it past her shoulders in high school but as soon as she came out to her parents and the rest of the world she cut it. It was straight out of the lesbian handbook. Come out, cut your hair. She'd cut it even shorter now. It was stylish but still looked like a messy mop on her head. It suited her but she looked strange, different than I remember.

"I like our place. It's cozy. Just you, me, and Lord Tubbington."

_Jesus, that damn cat is still alive. I'd have thought he would have exploded by now. He's probably a hundred and fifty pounds now I bet. She probably feeds him baby hamsters for dinner._

"I know baby but I promised you I'd hang the moon for you and you're only three or four years away from driving a Lexus for the rest of your life." Santana said.

Brittany crossed her arms on her chest. "I told you I want a mini-cooper."

Santana shook her head with defiance. "No woman of mine is driving one of those things. I want you to go visit all your friends in style. I want everyone to know that I'm taking good care of you."

Like a light switch Brittany stopped pouting. "That's right. I am yours." She touched the tip of Santana's nose. "But you're mine too and I want your hair long again."

They could go on like this all day. I didn't want them here that long. "So what are you guys doing here?"

Santana pushed the door closed with her hip and rolled her bag against a wall. "You don't mind if we crash in your spare bedroom do you?"

_Uh, yes. We have to sex up Rachel one last time before she goes off to see Luke. They're going to ruin our plan._

"I can get you girls a hotel room. Don't be silly. It's on me."

"No. I don't want you spending your money. We can sleep here. We're here to see you after all." Brittany said.

"A hotel would be nice baby. We can go to the Ritz." Santana said.

_Oh Santana how we've missed her. Always looking for the advantage._

"No. We're already here and I want to see Quinn."

"Well surely you guys want to go have lunch or something. Spend some time alone, my treat." I offered. If I could get them out of the house for ten minutes I could sneak Rachel away. Ten minutes.

Something in the background crashed. And I heard the patter of footsteps. Oh damn, Rachel's awake. So much for sneaking her out.

Brittany and Santana both looked towards the back room. Brittany's hand went to her mouth with genuine embarrassment. Santana simply smirked.

"Do you have company?" Brittany looked at Santana then pointed to the bedroom. "We'll go hide. We'll go hide and take a nap or something."

"It's fine baby. We won't embarrass Quinn's skank."

"She's not a skank." I blurted out protectively.

Damnnit big mouth. You're supposed to be the cool one.

_Sorry, I don't want people calling her names. I just don't like it. This is your fault for forcing love down my throat._

"Somebody's protective." Santana teased. "Who is that? Is 'The Face' back?"

The Face? Liz.

_I would assume that's who she means. She's got a really pretty face. _

Brittany shook her head. "Please not the Ice Queen."

Cheryl. They called Cheryl the Ice Queen?

_Of course. She's like we used to be in high school. Cold and efficient. Polite but doing things for her own reasons. They called us the Ice Queen back in Lima remember? _

We weren't polite in high school.

"Look, guys there's something I have to tell you." I started. Better to ease them into it than to let the shock hit them and make things weird.

"Quinn." I heard Rachel call out. "Quinn where are you? I'm not being ravished."

I watched Santana's face morph from confusion to recognition then to down right shock. Her eyes locked onto me and suddenly her lips curled into a smile.

"I know that voice. I know who's in that bedroom." Santana looked at Brittany with round eager eyes. "I know who it is baby." She looked at me and with a confidence only she kept in reserves she screamed out. "Hobbit. Hobbit get out here."

Brittany turned to me with her mouth open. "Rachel. Rachel's back there?"

I snapped my eyes closed tight and breathed deeply. I opened them just in time to see my bedroom door open and Rachel step out, thank God she'd put on my robe.

"Uh. Hello everybody." She said looking around. I could see the nervousness in her face even though she was trying to appear casual. She was a surprisingly bad actress for a Broadway star.

"Hobbit, fancy seeing you here half dressed." Santana said.

Brittany on the other hand rushed over and wrapped her arms around her. "Rachel. I haven't seen you in forever. I wish I would have known you and Quinn were getting it on. I would have come down sooner."

Rachel held the blonde tightly then pulled away. "Brittany. It's good to see you too. I've been meaning to email you."

"You guys email?" Santana asked. "Nerds."

_Ha. Ha. Classic Santana. _

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them both again. "What's this news?"

Brittany looked at Santana who smiled almost adoringly at her. "Go ahead baby, it's your day."

Brittany rushed over to Santana and gave her a kiss that made me suddenly want to plant one on Rachel. Seeing them kiss used to make me a tad uncomfortable growing up. The intimacy of it was enough to make me wonder what it would be like to love somebody so openly. I loved Rachel, even back then, but I didn't have the bravery to do it openly. Santana and Brittany's uncompromising love for one another was like a slap in the face to my cowardice.

"We're getting married."

What?

_What?_

"Married like, to have and to hold?" I asked.

"Congratulations. It's about time." Rachel said. She didn't seem to be the least bit surprised. "When is the big day? Are you getting married in a church? I want to hear everything." She asked as she grabbed Brittany's arm and drug her towards the sofa to chat.

Santana wrapped me in a hug. "Good for you Quinn. I didn't think you had the balls to finally get Berry in the sack. I'm proud to say I misjudged you."

"Thanks. I guess." I wasn't sure if she were serious or not. Just in case I decided to change the subject. "Congratulations by the way. You're actually doing it huh?"

Santana nodded, still confident. "Of course. I've wanted to get married forever but she finally just said yes. She wanted me to finish school first. She worked her ass off these past years paying rent and bills while I studied. She wanted me to see she was willing to stick by me through everything. I think she wanted to prove to her parents she could survive on her own. They gave her a hard time about putting her life on hold to move with me."

I didn't know that. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that wherever one went the other would follow. It seemed like a given. The fact that their parents didn't agree seemed strange.

"I didn't know her parents didn't want you together."

"Oh no it's not that. They've always known we were going to be together they just wanted to know Brittany would be able to have her own life and career and stuff. Now that I'll be bringing in a paycheck I can pay some of the bills and she can start dancing again. She wants to give lessons to kids."

"What about your student loans?"

"My dad paid them off. He was only torturing me. Last week I called to work out a payment schedule and they told me I had a zero balance. Him and mom are finally coming around. She's been calling Britt for the last month, they don't think I know but I do."

"To talk about what?" I asked.

"Who knows. They don't keep me in the loop. I'm just glad they're getting along.

I wonder if Rachel's dads will like us.

_Of course they will, we're extremely lovable._

Our dad doesn't think so.

_Our dad's a jackass._

"Come on in. Theirs coffee in the kitchen." I told her. If I wasn't going to get my sexy on I could at least catch up with my friends. And who knows if Santana and Brittany stayed Rachel may come back later.

_Don't get your hopes up. Luke remember._

I remember.

~Saturday Night~

"Why did Rachel have to leave?" Brittany asked.

_So she could go sex up her boyfriend._

"She had previous plans." I said doing my best to seem nonchalant.

My face must have relayed my disappointment because Santana picked up on it right away. "What? Something she couldn't change? Everything can be changed unless she's on a date or something."

I shifted in my seat on the sofa.

"Ouch." Santana said with a smirk. "With somebody more important to her than you clearly."

"San." Brittany urged. San was clearly code for 'shut up' because Santana stopped right away.

"Are you guys not together?" Brittany asked.

I shrugged.

"That's a no." Santana teased.

"Why not. You've been in love since Glee club."

_Since before Glee club._

"Does she not know? Have you not told her yet?" Brittany asked. She seemed almost disappointed by my lack of bravery. "Why haven't you told her yet? You followed her to New York, you became this big success and made all this money so you can impress her and once you finally get her you don't tell her that you love her. Why not?"

_Yeah why not. I told you we should have came clean but you wanted to be sneaky. Now she's going to break our heart and we're gonna be alone forever. You suck._

I looked over at Santana and glared. She'd clearly told Brittany everything. I'd made the mistake of getting drunk and confessing to her my love for Rachel a few years back. She listened to me but we never spoke of it again. She must have told Brittany all about it though.

"Don't get mad at me Fabray I get a free pass to tell Brittany everything. We don't keep secrets."

Brittany nodded along. "Secrets are bad. That's why you should tell Rachel that you love her. This girl she's on a date with can't be that important if she's still spending the night here with you. I bet she's just waiting for you to tell her how much you want her."

_Tell them it's a guy so we'll be totally humiliated._

I didn't know about that. I doubted Rachel was waiting for us to profess our love for her. It seemed like that was the furthest thing from her mind. She had fun with me but she didn't talk about being with me. Not at all. If anything she was treating me like a flavor of the week. If I had any pride I'd run away.

_Yeah right. We aren't going anywhere._

"Baby maybe we shouldn't interfere. What do we know? It took us forever to get things worked out." Santana told her.

"But that's because you were afraid to come out. Quinn's already out. And besides I've never doubted you loved me. Not one day, not one time since we were seven years old."

_And the award for biggest loser goes to Quinn Fabray. Lima loser hiding out in New York City._

"What am I supposed to do? She's with somebody. She's got a boyfriend. Luke Rafferty. The movie star."

Santana and Brittany looked at one another then began to laugh. "God you have to be the worst lesbian ever." Santana teased.

_What are we missing?_

"Why? What?"

Brittany rounded up her things. "If you don't know I'm not telling you. I'm going to go shower. The hot water was broken in our apartment." She looked over to Santana. "San can you help me wash my hair."

Santana looked at me with a smirk that spoke volumes. Unfortunately my Santanese was a little rusty. "What?"

"Remember when we were Juniors and I dated Dave Karofsky?"

I nodded. "Yeah, so."

She laughed. "And Dave is gayer than ass-less chaps."

"Okay." I still didn't see the point.

_Oh for God's sake stupid, Luke Rafferty is gay. At least Santana and Brittany think so. _

"Noooo." I said my face finally softening. Rafferty, gay?

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "You're the worst lesbian ever. You have no gay-dar whatsoever. Next you're gonna tell me that you didn't know Berry was totally into you in high school. That cute little be my friend routine she used to pull, she was totally trying to get it on with you."

_Santana is awesome. She's like the Lesbian Whisperer. That's exactly what Rachel said._

"He's gay?"

"Of course he is. Guys that pretty are always gay. If they aren't they're riding motorcycles and getting into fights to prove they're not. Luke Rafferty drives a Prius." She said the word Prius with a tilt of her head as if that simple revelation should explain everything. "If he ain't gay I'm not gay. And I'm so gay I'm about to have sex with my fiancé in your shower." She walked off towards my guest bedroom stopping to grab her suitcase and lug it behind her. "You need to work on your gay-dar. And you need to be honest with Berry. Take it from me. It took me almost losing Brittany before I finally decided to open up and be honest with her and myself. Save yourself the time and the headache by being truthful. She's in love with you, I can tell by looking at her, if you feel the same way you need to tell her. Otherwise you'll just end up hurting her."

Rachel told us not to hurt her remember? She made us promise.

_I know. _

So we should listen to Santana. She's our friend, she doesn't want to hurt us.

_I don't know. Us and Rachel aren't Santana and Brittany. We don't have unbreakable true love. Those two have been together for like twenty years. You heard what Brittany said, she's never doubted Santana's love for her once. Does Rachel really love us?_

I don't know.

_Right. Maybe we should find out before we start confessing to things._


	4. Chapter 4

My cell phone rang and cut me off mid sentence as I talked to Santana about the old Glee club. Most of the group was still in Lima, or in the nearby vicinity, and had settled into normal lives. Finn and Mercedes were both married already. Tina and Mike Chang had recently started dating again after running into one another at Walmart. Artie worked in computers but didn't expound on his love life when asked.

_That's because he doesn't have one. _

Puckerman was off being Puckerman, he left Lima after graduation and only returned sparingly to see his mother. Last I heard he was traveling the world. Lauren was a chef at a local Lima Bistro. She was doing surprisingly well for herself. According to Brittany she was even considering buying the place from it's current owners. Kurt had lost touch with the club. At least with me. He'd denied all my Facebook friend requests.

_Screw him. I never much liked him anyway. Smug little punk._

I glanced at my phone, checked the caller ID then disregarded it. I shoved it back into my pocket quickly and turned my attention back to Santana. Cheryl was calling. This wasn't a surprise, we'd kept in contact after we'd broken up. She called every few weeks or so to say hello. Our conversations were familiar but usually lacking in depth. Despite that the calls were the most consistent thing in my life. I could always count on a call from Cheryl to check in on me. Our chats were superficial but familiar. Nice. I liked Cheryl, she was an important part of my past.

I met Cheryl in a support group. Well I was in the group and she was speaking to us about hate crimes on campus. She was the type of girl who figured things out quickly and painlessly. Her high school friends were accepting, her mother supportive and involved. Her father disinterested. She had the prototypical happy coming out. Everybody in her life was supportive. Her mother had even joined PFLAG.

_Our father WAS interested. So interested he disowned us. For good this time. And our mother asked us if we were getting a sex change. Feel the love._

When I met her she was the big girl on campus. At least in the small lesbian community at our college. She was the girl everybody knew would do big things with herself. Law Student, student leader, cute as a button in a stiff and professional way, and easy to talk to. She asked me out for coffee the day we met. I was a lowly freshman girl, she an experienced law student. She taught me so much about setting and achieving goals, I felt as if I owed my current life and success to her. Together we mapped out my whole college career. At that point in my life she was exactly what I needed. A take charge type to help get me focused.

We dated for almost two years, until she graduated and moved to Chicago. She asked me if I'd be interested in coming with her. It was the type of conversation we didn't have. We never spoke about our feelings, or a future together. We simply enjoyed one another's company. Cheryl asking me if I was interested in coming with her was her way of extending me an olive branch. It wasn't romantic or emotional at all. We were in my dorm room studying in silence. Most of our time together was spent in silence. It was a comfortable silence but silence none the less. She leaned over to me and mentioned that she found an apartment in Chicago. Close to Northwestern University. Then without a hint of romance she asked me if I'd considered going to Northwestern business school. And if I did I could move with her.

Cheryl wasn't a romantic. On the other hand neither was I. We were two girls totally emotionally isolated who just so happened to find solace in one another. It was seemingly dysfunctional but it worked like a charm. We did what most couple's do, went out to movies and to dinner. Hung out and watched TV together. Took walks and had great sex. With all the things our relationship had we were missing key ingredients. Passion was the most important. We quickly settled into a routine and went from new couple to grandparents practically overnight. Despite this I didn't mind. That's why when she asked about me coming to Chicago I surprised myself when I said no, I'd prefer to keep to my schedule in New York, I told her. Cheryl didn't seem to blink, she nodded then went back to studying.

"Who is that Berry?" Santana asked.

"Cheryl." I answered back. Santana and Brittany had met Cheryl several times. They'd been polite to her and she to them but I could tell they didn't like her. Cheryl was always hard to read but she never said a bad word about them. She was accommodating and friendly but as usual there was something missing.

"You still talk to the Ice Queen?" Santana asked. She seemed genuinely surprised.

"She was my first girlfriend Santana. We're friends. We call each other and catch up. She's not that bad."

Brittany looked up from her toe nails, which were currently getting a fresh coat of pink polish and smiled. "That's nice that you guys stayed friends. I'm sure she doesn't have that many so it's good that you stay in contact with her."

Why would she think Cheryl doesn't have friends?

_Uh, because she doesn't. She hardly had any friends when we were together._

That's not true she was always going out for drinks and stuff. She invited us every time.

_Yeah, with her classmates. And every time we went it was always different people. She didn't have a core group of friends like we do. She doesn't have a Santana and Brittany. She just had us and friends from classes. Once the class ended she probably never saw the people again._

"She has friends." I lied for her. Cheryl was a sweetheart, I didn't want them thinking badly of her.

"I doubt it." Santana said. She looked up from the magazine she was reading at Brittany. "What did we used to call her Brittany?"

"Vicki." Brittany said without looking up from her toes.

Santana laughed. "Yeah, Vicki."

"Vicki?" I asked. I didn't get it. "Why Vicki?"

"Because she's a robot." Brittany answered as casually as if she were talking about what she wanted to have for dinner.

"And all robots are named Vicki?" I asked her. It didn't make sense.

_Of course it doesn't make sense. She's Brittany, she doesn't think like us. You have to read between the lines. Somebody had a robot named Vicki. _

"Not all robots, some of them have to be named Vicki I guess. The robot on the Jetson's was named Rosie. That's almost like Vicki but not quite."

"So who's robot was named Vicki?"

"Jamie Lawson."

Santana laughed. "I hated that kid. He was such a dork." She looked over at me realizing that I was still totally lost and shook her head. "It's some lame TV show from the 80's Brittany and I used to watch on Nick at Nite back in high school. Small Wonder. The girl on the show is a robot and her name is Vicki. Cheryl reminds us of her."

I never seen that show. Is it on the internet?

_Seriously how would I know that?_

"Oh okay." Was all I could say.

"I know she's not really a robot. Robot people aren't real." Brittany said, looking up from her toes again towards Santana who was shaking her head no and looking in Brittany's direction.

I could tell by the reaction that this was a discussion they'd had before. They were so cute together. Rachel was right. They belonged together. I couldn't imagine a circumstance where they didn't fit together like the perfect puzzle. They complimented each other so well. Where Brittany was flighty and free, Santana was focused and controlled.

_Speaking of Rachel _w_e should call her. Send her some flowers or something. She loves flowers._

But she's with Luke.

_So. He's gay. He won't mind. He's probably taking a bubble bath or something anyway. _

~Sunday afternoon~

I was alone again after Santana and Brittany left to catch the train back to Boston. Despite them showing up uninvited I loved having them here. I hated being here alone all the time. Sitting around Saturday with them and Rachel was like being in Heaven. It was just like old times in the Glee club. I pretended to hate it but it was the most fun I've ever had.

Are we sure he's gay? Aren't gay guys supposed to be strange? He doesn't sound gay, and he isn't that good of a dresser. I think Santana is wrong. She didn't even give us any proof, we're just supposed to take her word for it. Santana lies. Remember when she tried to convince us not to wear spankies that day during Cheerios. She said the whole squad was going commando.

_She just wanted to see us naked. I was flattered. And it almost worked. You wanted to do it. Remember you said we had to fit in and be a team player?_

That's because you made everybody hate us.

_I don't remember you complaining back then you ungrateful bitch. High school was fun._

Not all of it. Sophomore year.

_Don't blame that on me, I told you drinking with Puckerman was a bad idea. I knew that guy wanted to get into our pants. I told you a hundred times that's all boys want from us. Sex. Oh come on Quinn, nobody will know. Oh come on Quinn, it won't hurt at all. Oh come on Quinn, you can't get pregnant your first time. Moron. _

How long are you going to hold that over my head?

_Forever. You got us knocked up._

Puckerman got us knocked up. I just laid there.

_I remember. Then we had to give up our baby._

Now that was YOUR idea.

_Somebody had to do the thinking. You were all hormonal and crying all the time. Wanting to keep her. We were only fifteen. _

Sixteen.

_Fifteen and a half. And look at us now, it was the right decision. _

I still miss her. Our baby.

_And I don't? I miss her too but Shelby's taking good care of her and we sent her money for college._

I'm sure she'll like that.

_Of course she will. She'll understand. _

Okay so what do you want to do about Rachel? I want to be her girlfriend. I'm ready. I want to come home to her and cuddle at night and listen to her loud snoring. I want to order her vegan food and send her roses on opening night for the rest of our life.

_Jesus obsess much_.

Stop acting like you don't want those things too. I know you love her. You're not fooling anybody.

_Maybe we should just go to her house and ruin their night._

She'll never forgive us if we do that. If Luke is gay it may ruin his career and she obviously cares about him and his career. We need to pretend like he doesn't bother us.

_Why?_

Because we don't want to be needy and clingy. You said that. You said we shouldn't come on too strong.

_Now you want to listen to me? _

We have to show her we've changed. if you were in charge we'd key his car, or post nasty rumors about him on TMZ.

_It would work too. It would ruin him and she wouldn't want him anymore. _

Says you. She'd hate us.

_We wouldn't tell her we did it stupid. _

No. We aren't doing anything to Luke. He hasn't done anything to us. If anything we're the bad guy here because we slept with his girlfriend.

_Fuck that guy. She's ours._

Now who's being obsessive?

_Don't judge me._

~Sunday night~

"Thank you for the flowers. They were beautiful. I'm just curious why you sent them." Rachel said as she slipped into the room and pulled off her coat.

"To make your boyfriend jealous. Maybe he'll do something nice for you like buy you a fur coat or something."

"I'd be appalled. I'd never condone the killing of a defenseless animal for fashion." She said sternly. She seemed genuinely turned off by the idea.

_Note to self, no fur coats._

"Well he's not doing something right. I wouldn't have let you out of my sight."

"It's okay. He's with a friend."

_He's with some guy I bet. Doing gay stuff._

Shut up.

"So you can spend the night with me?"

She arched an eyebrow at me. "Do you want me to?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to it. I like having you close to me. I'd prefer it if you stay here most of the time."

She leaned back on the sofa and let her eyes wash over me. "So you like me?"

_Okay, say yes. Just one word._

"Sure. I like you."

_Damnit Quinn just do what I say!_

Do you want to take over?

_Definitely._

"Well great," she said. There was something about the way she said it that was off. Was she angry with me?

"Rachel I like you. I like having you close to me. I want you to stay with me tonight. I want us to get to know each other better."

"Quinn you know I have a boyfriend." She cut in. It was half hearted.

"I don't care about him."

"Clearly." She said. The tone was back. The angry tone.

She was off the sofa and pulling her jacket back on. She WAS angry with me and I had no idea why.

"Why are you mad? What did I do? I said I liked spending time with you. I want us to get to know one another better."

"I thought you were different Quinn but you haven't changed much. Not where it counts. You call me over for sex and you make me feel like I'm fifteen all over again. I'm nervous and giddy. Then you ask me to spend more time with you but you don't care that I have a boyfriend."

What are we supposed to say?

_I don't know. She's mad at us. I don't know what we did._

She walked towards the door and grabbed the knob.

"Rachel don't leave. Talk to me. Tell me what I did. I'm sorry."

She looked back at me and shook her head. "You didn't do anything Quinn, that's the point." Then she walked out the door to leave.

_Go after her. You have to go after her. They always chase the girl in the movies. _

Really, in the movies?

_Do you have a better idea? If she leaves she'll never come back._

I snatched the door open and ran into the hallway. Rachel was standing at the elevator and when I called her name she didn't turn to look at me.

"Rachel come back inside. It's late. You can sleep in the bed, I'll sleep in the guest room. We can talk some more."

"There isn't much to say Quinn." She told me. I could hear the shaky pain in her voice.

Is she crying? Did we make her cry?

"Rachel tell me what's wrong." I pleaded.

"Quinn when I came to New York I had three major goals. Get into Julliard, make it to Broadway, and headline my own Broadway show. I didn't plan past that because truthfully those are all nearly impossible tasks to accomplish. To accomplish even one is something to be proud of. I accomplished all three, in nearly record time. I'm not even thirty years old yet and I feel like I've peaked." She finally turned to look at me revealing beautiful brown eyes full of pain, hurt, and tears. "I needed more than just my career but I was confident I wouldn't have it. It wasn't until I ran into you that I felt something that I've been missing in my life. Passion. The time I've spent with you has been the most alive I've felt in years. I hoped, no prayed, that you felt the same way."

"I do." I threw out quickly. "I feel the same way. I like being with you."

"Prove it." She told me.

How? Tell me what to say. What does she want?

_I don't know. Tell her the truth. _

"Rachel I'm in love with you. I always have been."

The words hit a brick wall, Rachel didn't budge. "Prove it."

"Prove it how? I told you I'm in love with you. I don't know what else to say."

She simply began to shake her head. I could see the disappointment in her face. "I don't doubt it Quinn but you aren't ready for a relationship and I swore to myself that I wasn't going to let you hurt me. I have to leave before I cause you to break that promise."

Don't let her do this. Say something.

…..

Hello? Help me?

…..

"Rachel you're being unreasonable. Tell me what I have to do to make this right. If you know how I feel about you why won't you give me a chance?"

She didn't answer me. Couldn't. Her eyes were red and it looked as if any minute she'd start to cry.

"Please. Just give me a chance." I asked again.

"Just prove it to me. Prove to me that you love me."

"What does that mean? I don't know what it means Rachel. You have to tell me."

The elevator door opened. "If you don't understand you're not ready Quinn."

"Damnit Rachel. Why do you have to make things so damn hard all the time. Its just like back in Lima. All you care about is your damn self. If you want to leave, go. Get out of here, I'm not stopping you. Take your Man hands and hustle back down to Chelsea."

I wasn't sure where all the venom came from. One minute I was in pain and trying to win her heart and the next I was acting like a teenage mean girl. It had been years since I'd uttered those hurtful words. Man hands. She was going to hate me forever now. She would never forgive me for this.

Something flickered in Rachel's eyes. Recognition? Relief? "So you are still in there somewhere? I was waiting for you to show up." She leaned into me and gave me a final kiss before disappearing onto the elevator. "Goodbye Quinn."

The elevator doors closed before I got a chance to apologize. She was gone and all hope of a relationship with her went with her.

"I didn't mean that." I said too late.

~Monday~

I spent the morning working intensely at my station. When things got tough I focused on work. Focused on making money. Margo had taught me that making money helped. It was the mantra she repeated constantly when things got bad.

Things WERE bad. I didn't sleep at all last night. I kept myself busy so I wouldn't think about Rachel. I was afraid if I slept she'd haunt my dreams. Instead of resting I stayed up all night going over files, reviewing paperwork so I could come to work and make a killing. It didn't make me feel any better. I was making money, lots of money. I was making a killing today like I was taught and I still felt like crap.

_Hey. Hey you're not still mad at me are you?_

What do you think? You abandoned me last night. You abandoned me and I called her Man Hands.

_I'm sorry. I freaked out. _

No you're not.

I felt a slight brush of contact on my shoulder and a cold shiver ran down my spine. A finger ran slowly down my neck. The gesture was familiar. Extremely familiar. Only one person touched me that way.

"Hey there Cupcake."

_NO. What is she doing here? Is she here to see us?_

"Cheryl."

I hadn't seen Cheryl in years. The day she left New York we spent the morning in bed watching reruns of Will and Grace. She made me breakfast like she always did, coffee and an omelet, and brought me a copy of the Wall Street Journal. It was like any other day, except we both knew a part of our life was ending.

Cheryl was the type of girlfriend who wanted to handle all the details. When we dated she made all the plans. When we went out she always paid. She was polite, kind to me, and the best relationship I ever had. Her need to be in control of things didn't bother me. It was good to be in the passenger seat for once. I felt safe with her.

_The sex was pretty good too._

I'm not speaking to you. Traitor.

It had been years since we'd last seen one another but she hadn't changed at all. She looked exactly like she had that day she kissed me goodbye in her apartment. Her hair was longer and she was dressed in a suit that I knew by sight cost more than mine. There was a pair of glasses on the tip of her nose but she still looked like the Cheryl I remembered.

"Sorry to sneak up on you Cupcake. But I had to come down to see you. I know you said you were in investing but I didn't know you were doing so well. Rumor has it you're up for some big promotion." She leaned into me and sat down on the edge of my desk, crossing her legs in front of me. "Between you and me, I think you're going to get it." Cheryl didn't speculate. If she said it out loud she probably had a reason.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. It was good to see her. We talked on the phone semi-regularly and talked on line occasionally but we never talked about visiting one another. She was a success back in Chicago. A partner at her law firm. I wasn't sure how much money that was but it was a lot. Knowing that, it hardly seemed like the king of job that allowed her to play hooky by visiting her ex college girlfriend in New York on a whim.

She smiled. "I'm working. We have a deal in the works. I'm in charge of making sure things get handled. I called you to let you know I was in town but I couldn't get a hold of you."

I nodded. "I'm sorry, Santana and Brittany were in town. Santana's just finishing up medical school and her and Brittany are going to get married."

She reached out and stroked my forearm. "You look great Cupcake."

Cheryl had always called me Cupcake. I wasn't sure why. It didn't hold any specific meaning, at least not to me. One day she'd just started doing it. I didn't protest. Nobody had ever given me a nickname before. At least not a good one. I liked the idea of being somebody's Cupcake.

"Thank you." It was all I could think to say.

"I know this is short notice but we should have dinner tonight. You know, catch up."

_Say yes. Tell her yes. It's not like we have anything better to do. Besides we need to get our minds off Rachel. _

I didn't have the strength to fight. "That sounds like fun."I told her.

She smiled. "I have to get back upstairs to my meeting but I want to see you tonight. Dinner. Seven thirty. I'll pick you up."

I knew better than to argue. Cheryl was a total control freak. "That sounds like fun. Dinner."

_She looks hot._

Being hot was never the problem.

_Well you see what feelings gets us. Rachel hates us and we're such losers we don't even know why._

Because we couldn't prove it.

_Prove what?_

I still have no idea. How much we love her. That we care about her. I don't know.

_I don't think she meant anything by it. I think she was just looking for a way to dump us. With this Luke character back in town it was only a matter of time. If he isn't gay the last thing she wants is to ruin her meal ticket by getting naked with us. _

She liked us. I could tell.

_A fat load of good that did us._

~Dinner~

"So you're in town working. What kind of project?" I asked. I didn't really care, just making conversation. Cheryl's legal mumbo jumbo usually bored me silly.

"Yeah, just some boring stuff I know you don't care about. Tell me what's going on with you. Are you seeing anybody?"

There was the inevitable question. Are you seeing anybody? I didn't know how to answer. Technically I wasn't, Rachel had pretty much told me to pound sand. Even though I knew this to be the truth, my heart wouldn't let me give up so easily.

"Kind of. We're figuring some things out." I answered.

Cheryl simply nodded. "I was seeing somebody but things didn't work out. She wanted to know things. What I was thinking. Why I did things a certain way. It was very strange. I didn't enjoy it like I enjoyed us. You seemed to understand me."

_Not really but the whole point of being with her was that she didn't mind that we didn't. _

"You're a bit of an eccentric." I said teasing.

Her face came to life at the words though. "Right. I am. I like keeping things to myself. I need to be with somebody who understands that." She took a sip of her wine and looked around the restaurant. "Since we've separated have you had anybody in your life who has been as good for you as me?"

It was a strange question. "Not really. I've dated but everything ends either badly or in disappointment."

"Same here. I liked us. We worked very well together. You had your things and I had mine. We compromised on everything and we enjoyed one another's company. We didn't get bogged down in all the silly stuff."

I was curious to hear her definition of silly stuff but she didn't expand on the topic.

"Quinn we should really go out again. I mean like on a real date. Your friends at the office told me you like going to the Opera."

_Hell no. _

"Broadway shows actually."

She nodded, not deterred. "Even better. I'm going to be in town for a few weeks working on this deal. Let me take you to a show."

I don't know how comfortable I am with this. We need to be trying to win Rachel back not scamming on new women.

_She doesn't want us. She broke up with us remember. We can't sit around and sulk. We need to get back out there. I'm tired of being alone. I want a girlfriend._

You're kidding. You're admitting to wanting to be in a relationship.

_It's all your fault. I told you Rachel was going to ruin us._

You did not. You went on and on about how we needed to get her into bed. You were totally into it.

_Fine. Whatever. I still want to go out with Cheryl. We tried things your way and things didn't work. We have to try them my way now._

"A show sounds great," I said. Just saying the words felt wrong. Rachel and I had only spoken last night. Wasn't there some kind of break-up grace period? Wasn't there a holding pattern you put yourself in just in case you decided to get back together? If not there should be.

Cheryl smiled and took another sip of her wine. "Wonderful. That's great news."

_Where is she staying? Do you think she'll stay at our place if we asked?_

No. Absolutely not. We are not having sex with two different people in the same week. It's slutty.

_Oh come on you big prude. Who's going to know? It's not like we haven't slept with her before. It won't even count. It'll be like eating left-over's._

No. No. No. No. It's not happening you slut. Dirty sex with Cheryl won't help us get over Rachel. It's only going to make us feel cheap.

_Admit it, it sounds like fun though right._

"I'll have to set things up with you soon so we can arrange your schedule. I don't want to encroach on your time with this other person," Cheryl said.

"Rachel." I confessed.

Cheryl simply nodded. "Right, Rachel." She took another sip. "Do you eat here a lot? How is the Spinach Ricotta?"

"Delicious." I lied. I thought it was disgusting.

_Ha. Ten bucks she spits it up into her napkin._

You're on.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up staring at a set of perfect abs. Male abs. I wasn't big on boy bodies, or boys in general in fact, but even I had to admit they looked pretty yummy. The only male female experience I had was with Noah Puckerman over ten years ago. Even then I didn't see what the big deal was. It was quick and painful. In hindsight I could see how it could be pleasurable. Over the years I experiment with the process, the boy part. Without the boy. I grudgingly admit to liking it.

_Grudgingly? You liar, you know you love it._

The abs continued to stare me silently in the face. Did I get drunk and get naked with a boy again? Drunk. I moaned as the pain rushed to my head. I got drunk last night. I left Cheryl, went to the restaurant bar and got wasted. Then what?

_You don't really want to know do you?_

Come on, where are we? What happened last night?

"Is she awake yet?" I heard in the distance. The voice was stern and angry. Rachel.

Did we come to Rachel's house? What the hell are we doing here?

_We sorta got drunk and came over to give her a piece of our mind. _

Oh my God. Oh my God, are you serious? We came to Rachel's house drunk. That means the abs are. I lifted my head and stared at the eight pack's owner. Weren't abs called a six pack. This guy had eight. Is eight normal?

_No. Eight is not normal. On a scale of one to ten, a six pack is ten. An eight pack is a fifteen. A straight girl would be going crazy right now. _

Great. Not only is he rich and handsome and famous but he has Taylor Lautner's body. Perfect. No wonder she dumped us.

_In order for her to dump us we'd actually have to be going out. We weren't._

"She's awake." Ab's said.

I looked up to face him, ready to come face to face with the man keeping me from my one true love. A million things went through my mind, how dare he do this to me. The nerve of him and his washboard stomach.

When my eyes locked in on his face I saw that he wasn't what I expected. It wasn't Luke Rafferty.

_Holy Hell!_

Oh come one. Are you kidding me! Another one.

_Jesus how many movie stars is she dating? What is she some kind of nymphomaniac or something_?

Standing before me was a movie star. Just not the one I expected to find at Rachel's apartment at this time of day. Chad Ullrich, the world's biggest action star, was standing half naked in Rachel's living room. He was wearing a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and no shirt. His feet were bare of socks and shoes. His hair was a mess of sandy blonde bed head. He wasn't pretty like Luke but he was worse, somehow more of a threat. He was ruggedly handsome with powder blue eyes. He even had the light facial hair guys killed for. To make matters a hundred percent worse he was smiling at me as if I were on stage at Second City.

_Holy Hell it's James Bond._

Chad Ullrich had recently been cast as the new James Bond. I'd saw the movie a few months ago and it kicked major ass. He was already signed up to do two sequels. We're toast.

_We can do a lot of things, but stealing James Bond's girlfriend isn't one of them._

Rachel rushed into the room glaring at me as if I were stealing her stereo. "Oh, so you finally decided to wake up I see?"

I could feel my face blushing red. How humiliating. Why couldn't I just drunk dial her like a normal person. I actually drunk knocked. She must think I'm a total idiot.

"Rachel, I am so sorry." I told her.

Rachel was wearing a long black nightgown that hung down to her ankles and her face was covered in some kind of green face mask. Even with her crazy beauty ritual she still looked cute.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" She asked me. "Who does this Quinn?"

I didn't have an answer. I looked like a buffoon.

_You are a buffoon._

You shut up. You said we were gonna have one drink. One drink to take the edge off.

_The edge is off. _

God I hate you so much. You always do this.

_Hey it was an accident._

Getting drunk doesn't happen by accident.

"I'm sorry Rachel."

Chad laughed. "I love you so much. You are absolutely hilarious you know that. You were completely out of your mind last night. You were out on the street screaming Man Hands at the top of your lungs. You were even dancing."

We were dancing?

_Wow we must have been pretty messed up._

"Quinn do you have any idea what time it is right now?"

_Oh shit. We have to work. We have a job. We're going to get fired._

"I have to go. I have to get to work. I'm gonna get fired." The realization that I was putting myself in jeopardy sunk in quickly. Losing my job meant I was back at square one. I was going to end up back in Lima working at Breadstix.

I was off my temporary bed on the sofa and on my feet looking around for my belongings.

_Hurry up slow poke, we can't get fired. _

"Look I'm sorry but I have to get to the office. If I hurry I may be able to keep my boss from firing me."

Rachel glared behind her mud mask. "You are not getting fired. I called your office and talked to your boss. A woman named Margo. She's expecting you in when you get in."

What? She called the office. And said what? Quinn got drunk last night and passed out on my sofa, please don't fire her?

"Rachel I appreciate it but I really need to go."

"Quinn I said I took care of it. Now get yourself a cup of coffee and get ready to leave. We'll be ready soon."

She turned her attention to Chad. "Chad, Luke's looking for you." Chad nodded to me still smirking and walked off towards a bedroom. It wasn't the bedroom Rachel and I had made love in. It must have been a spare bedroom. Where they not getting it on?

Rachel began to shake her head as I watched him walk away. "Quinn, go, coffee, now."

She's pissed at us.

_No crap genius. _

~Work~

Rachel had not only figured out a way to keep me from getting fired, she'd actually made it look like I was working all night. She'd somehow managed to drag her boy toys into the office with me and convinced them to open up trading accounts.

Stepping into the office was like stepping into the zoo. Every eye in the room focused on us. I had never been much of a star here, I was a hotshot on MY floor, in MY department, but nobody off that floor knew who I was.

When I walked into the lobby I knew that was no longer the case. Everybody in the place looked at me with half smiles and jealous glares. There were a half dozen suits standing in the doorway who rushed to greet us the second we walked in. I recognized all the faces. The schmoozers. The drones who kissed the asses of our most important clients and ran around the office getting them champagne and caviar.

Margo stepped to the front of the crowd and grabbed me by the elbow. She leaned into me and whispered quietly in my ear. "And here I thought I was going to have to find an excuse not to fire you."

If I said anything I was bound to give myself away. Rachel had set me up to look like I was halfway competent and if I started to talk I was bound to prove I wasn't. I swallowed hard and gave her my best smirk.

Over Margo's shoulder I saw the Executive director of Finance making his way over to us. Mitch O'Hurley was a career finance wizard. The kind of big shot who knew everybody and everything on Wall Street. When it came to making a few bucks the guy was king. He'd had articles written about him in Forbes and Money magazine.

"Okay just be cool." Margo told me.

_Yeah, try not to say anything stupid. _

"Mrs. Fabray, good job," he said as he stepped up to me. His attention shifted to Margo. "This is your protégé right Margo?"

Margo nodded proudly. "Yes sir. Quinn is my brightest."

He looked back at me. "You pulled in quite a bit of money yesterday. And with this, I'm officially impressed."

Handle this.

_Fine._

"Yes sir I did. Margo trained me well." A little bit of praise for the boss would buy me a whole lot of loyalty.

"Well what do we know about these guys? What exactly are they looking for? What did you go over with them?"

Okay here's where it's going to get tricky. I have no idea what Rachel asked them to do once they got here.

_Relax, watch and learn. _

"I gave them the usual song and dance about the firm. They're ripe for the picking. All they need is to be closed."

He nodded. "So run the gamut?"

Wait a minute Mary Tyler Moore, we have to protect Rachel and her money.

_I know. I'm looking out for Rachel._

"On the boys yes, they're movie stars they can afford it. The girl is a bit trickier. She's strictly Broadway. She needs long term care. She's a friend and I'd really like to see her with an asset manager. She's got quite a bit of funds to invest and as long as she's with somebody she's comfortable with she'll continue to pump money into her account. She doesn't have the stomach for high risk ventures."

O'Hurley nodded. "Understood," he said as he sauntered away.

Margo grabbed my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You just made yourself a legend at this firm. You just made both of us a lot of money. Cindy Kaine told me that if you produced the stars like you promised you were going to be fast tracked. And since you're such a hotshot bad ass I'm getting all the credit for spotting your talent and taking you under my wing. Nobody in this firm in your position has ever pulled in clients like this. You walk in here four hours late, wearing yesterday's clothes, with James Bond, and the movie star boyfriend of the girl you're sleeping with. This is epic. Two movie stars and a Broadway star. The bosses have been looking for a few celebrity clients to brighten up the place. They figure once they get a couple they can get a couple more. You know how those Hollywood types are. Monkey see monkey do. You just personally solved that problem for them."

_When she says it that way it does sound bad ass._

It would be a lot more bad ass if Rachel hadn't had to save our ass.

_When we get our million dollars we'll buy her a Tiffany bracelet._

We can afford to buy her that now.

_She hates us now._

She doesn't. People who hate us don't save us from getting fired and practically get us a promotion all in one fell swoop.

_Point taken._

"You should really go shower and change Quinn, you smell kind of ripe. Cindy got you a suit sent over from Mario's. It won't fit perfectly like his usual work but it's as close as Mario could get on short notice." She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "I told you that investing in some good clothes would come in handy. Cindy was impressed when she found out you had suits tailor made like she does."

That didn't seem like a big deal. Cindy shopped at Mario's, Margo was Cindy's protégé so it was understandable she would too. I was Margo's protégé and of course she'd teach me how she was taught. It was like a strange business circle of life.

_Okay now ice the cake Quinn._

"Margo I'm sorry to spring this on you like this. It just all sort of came up. I won't leave you in the dark again."

Margo laughed. "Don't worry about that. I just told the bosses I trusted you to represent this firm well and I stood behind everything you did. I was hoping you didn't come in here with some cheap Vegas look alike though. That wouldn't have been good for either of us."

"So I did good?" I asked.

She nodded proudly. "You did really good. Before I got my promotion O'Hurley told me he was impressed. It's code for it's time you moved up in the world. A week later I had my own team, an office, and a giant raise."

Are we going to get a promotion? I don't know the first thing about being the boss. I barely understand what we do here.

_Will you shut up. I got everything under control. _

"Well I'm ready if you think I am."

Margo nodded and pulled away from me. "I know you're ready. The next step isn't as cut throat as trading. You get a little more flexibility. You just have to keep your traders motivated. Chop down anybody not making the cut. Think you can do that?"

_Hell yeah. Getting paid to hassle some loser is just a bonus. I told you being head cheerleader would come in handy one day. Remind me to send money to Sue Sylvester's booster fund._

"I'll make you proud boss." I told her.

She smiled. "Good. And there's a lawyer looking for you. She's in town handling an out of town deal. She asked you to call her when you got in."

Cheryl. Great.

~Later, still at work~

Rachel managed to track me down before her and the boys left and when her hand squeezed my wrist and pulled me roughly into the bathroom without speaking I knew my day was going to become unpleasant. After I showed up with Rachel and her movie star boy toys I became a mini office celebrity. Everybody on the floor was stopping by my work station and telling me how good a job I'd done. A few of the boys had even asked why I hadn't let them in on it. In typical fashion HSQ smarted off to them. Instead of getting angry they were amused. Nothing was taken personally here.

"So who'd they set you up with?" I asked Rachel. I was doing my best not to seem ashamed of my behavior last night. I wasn't sure what I'd done but I was sure it was something that required me to hang my head in shame. The last time I'd been blacked out drunk I managed to get myself pregnant.

"Martin Winkle," she told me.

Winkle was everything Rachel needed in a asset manager. Reliable, cautious, and experienced. Totally boring, even his name was boring.

"Good. He'll take great care of you." I said.

"I checked on that trading account. There was almost a half a million dollars in it. I'm opening up an account here with Mr. Winkle. I like him. He seems like an honest man." She told me.

That's great. It didn't get stolen. The last guy had even managed to make her some money.

"Make sure Winkle checks your tax liability. Capital gains and such."

Rachel nodded diligently. "Capital Gains. Got it. Anything else?"

I couldn't think of anything else.

"Not off the top of my head. You're in good hands."

She suddenly switched gears and poked a finger into my chest. "What is the matter with you? Why would you come to my house in the middle of the night in that condition? This is New York City Quinn. You don't stand out on the street in that condition. Anybody could have came along and threw you in the back of their sleazy van. Thank God Chad and Luke heard you."

"I'm sorry. I was missing you and I got drunk and I wanted to see you." I didn't remember what I was thinking but I was sure it was some twisted variation of that.

"I want to see you too Quinn but I'm not showing up to your place drunk in the middle of the night. Besides, you aren't ready for a relationship. I can't force you to love me."

"I do love you Rachel. I always have. I want you. I want to make a life with you. I want to take care of you."

Rachel smiled. "And I want you to take care of me. More than anything but you have to prove to me you're ready. You still haven't done that."

I crossed my arms on my chest. Not this again. "How. I'm not that smart Rachel, I don't understand."

She rested both her hands on my cheeks. "You do. You have to prove to me that you care. Believe it or not last night was wonderful in some sick way because now I know you care. You said it last night, what I wanted to hear. You asked me all the right questions for me to start taking things seriously between us. But this morning it was all gone, the new you was back."

"Well if you know I love you why do I have to prove it again." I asked her.

"Because you're still hanging on to something. I don't know if your afraid, or proud, or what, but it's holding us back. I love how you've turned out. I like who you are now but this new you isn't who I fell in love with. That first night at my place I had my old Quinn back. That's the Quinn I want. The Quinn who won't let me get full of myself. The Quinn who stands out on my street and tap dances Man Hands."

_We tapped danced last night? Haven't done that in a while. I wonder if we're still any good at it._

Are you kidding. You want to talk about that now?

"Rachel I love you. I don't want to lose you. I care, I care so much it hurts."

She leaned into me and kissed me then pulled away. She walked to the bathroom door and grabbed the handle. "Prove it to me and I'm all yours."

No damnit. "Don't do this Rachel."

"Quinn you know what I want. You know what I need from you, you've already asked the right questions. Remember last night and come back to me."

"Where are you going now, to go sex up your boyfriend?" I asked. The venom was back. Why was I always acting like a jerk to her? Damn, something about her made me insane. I hated feeling this way. Jealous. She always made me crazy like this. Even back in Lima I'd see her and Finn together and get insane with rage. I foolishly thought it was about Finn back then but it wasn't. When I saw her with Jesse St. James and whoever else she fixated on at the time I was just as nuts. I wasn't jealous of her I was jealous of them getting to be with her.

Rachel didn't get angry at me. On the contrary, that smile I'd seen at my elevator the other day returned. Relief and recognition. "He's not that kind of boyfriend." She told me before pulling the door open. "And you owe Luke an apology. You weren't very kind to him last night." She disappeared out of the bathroom leaving me alone once again.

_Aw did we hurt poor little Lukie's feelings? Aw poor baby._

Will you stop it. She wants us to apologize and we're gonna do it. She just gave us a huge opportunity and I'm not going to let your stupid ego get in our way. You wanted a girlfriend and we're going to make that happen.

_How exactly are we gonna do that? We still don't know what she wants. _

You're going to tell me everything that happened last night.

_How am I gonna do that? I don't remember any of it either._

And you call me a loser.

_I'm not the loser, she likes ME. She said she had fun with me that first night remember?_

Could that be it? Does she want you instead of me?

_Of course she does. Why wouldn't she?_

I did my best to contain myself. She wanted HSQ. How could she want that lunatic? The same girl who tortured her and made her life miserable in high school. She wasn't at all interested in the new me. Is it true she wanted to be mistreated?

_Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, who says I'm going to be mistreating her? I wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm sorry I'm not some bottled down robot like you and Cheryl._

I thought you liked Cheryl?

…

No. Don't do this again. You can't ignore me.

_Fine. I do like Cheryl. I just LOVE Rachel._

I couldn't argue with that. I knew it was true. Cheryl was great but Rachel was on a whole other plane. Rachel stirred something inside of me that I couldn't deny. Cheryl was easy and familiar and safe. There was no risk of feeling this way with Cheryl. The only problem was I wanted to feel this way. I wanted to feel. I needed to figure out what Rachel wanted from me.

~Later~

I was doing my best to avoid calling Cheryl. I wanted to speak to her, blowing her off wasn't my intention. I just didn't like the idea of making plans to go out with her while Rachel was still utmost on my mind. It felt wrong for some reason. Was I using her as a rebound?

_Of course you are stupid, but Cheryl's not the kind of girl who'd get her feelings hurt by that._

I suppose not.

My phone chimed on my desk and I found myself dreading the idea of having to do more work. My head was pounding and I'd already downed four aspirin for my headache and two bottles of water in a vain attempt to hydrate myself. The idea of having to make another work related call or speak to Cheryl about our night on the town loomed over my head like a guillotine.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the message was from Rachel then I was let down almost immediately when I read it.

**Apologize to Luke. NOW!**

_Four exclamation points. Wow, what did we do?_

I sent a text back fishing for information about what I'd done.

**How bad was it? How big should this apology be?**

**HUGE, watch this. **She responded then there was a lull.

When my phone chimed again I had a video message.

_Oh, this should be good, maybe we can get some clues about last night. Maybe what we said to win her over is on there. Play it. Play it. _

I hit play and was bombarded with an image of myself stumbling around Rachel's apartment like a lush. I was talking loud and waving a shaky finger in Luke's face.

-Just who do you think you are Mr. Rich and famous? Why you trying to steal my girlfriend anyway? Isn't there some kind of groupie you could be banging? Hey James. James. Tell Luke he's a giant cock block. I've been waiting since I was fourteen to get Rachel and this jerk won't let me have her. Tell him James. Tell him he's not a good actor. Tell him he's too pretty to be an action star.-

The cell phone camera panned to Chad who nodded with a huge smile.

-He's way too pretty.-

I could see Chad wasn't going to be any help. And did I call him James? He probably thinks I'm an idiot. However I didn't stop there. The insults against Luke just kept coming.

-Hey Luke. Hey pretty boy, you want to fight over her? I bet I can take you. I bet you've never been in a fight before. And movie fights don't count. And even if they did you got your ass kicked in Black Thunder. That's my favorite Luke Rafferty movie. Black 'ass kicked' Thunder.-

_We are WASTED! _

This is horrible. Luke probably hates us.

On the video I stopped tormenting Luke temporarily to speak to Rachel.

-Rachel why are you with him? You should be with me. It's supposed to be me and you. I went and made all this money and learned to be a nice person so you'd love me and you're with this. This. Twink.-

Oh my God. Did we just call him a twink? That's horrible.

_Ha. Ha. Classic._

Rachel clearly agreed because she began to chastise me. Chad still holding the camera, didn't think it was horrible at all. I could hear him burst out laughing in the background.

-Quinn stop calling Luke names. That's a horrible thing to say.-

I didn't let up one bit. Instead I pointed at Luke with a shaky drunk finger.

-Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder where you are. Up above the world so fly. Diamonds diamonds in the sky.-

Oh my god. Oh my god. This is just awful. No wonder Chad couldn't stop laughing at us this morning.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. _

Stop. Stop laughing, this is horrible.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. _

He's going to hate us. He'll never forgive us.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha._

-Twinkle, twinkle I hate Luke. Steal my Rachel, he's a douche.-

Chad laughed again.

-I love it. I love her. You gotta keep her Rachel. She's great. She's perfect for you.-

-Thank you James. See Rachel, James Bond thinks I'm great. Come on. I want to sex you up.-

I began to unbutton my shirt when Rachel screamed my name.

-Quinn. Put your clothes back on.-

The video ended there and I groaned to myself. This was totally humiliating. How could Luke do anything to help me after that display? I'm surprised the guy even spoke to me today. He'd even been pleasant this morning. He was a better man than most. I would want to kill somebody if they'd done that to me.

_Wow did we get wasted last night. I don't remember any of that. _

We're never drinking again.

_No, it's good. It worked. Rachel liked us that way. _

She did not. She yelled at us for getting drunk and coming over to her house. She said we said what she needed to hear last night but I guarantee you that wasn't it.

_Probably not. _

I typed Rachel a message. The text equivalent of sticking my tail between my legs in defeat.

**What's Luke's number? **

**A/N: I'm going to wrap this up soon. I'm just having so much fun writing it I'm having a hard time quitting. BTW funny side note. A friend of mine called another friend a twink the other day and we all laughed. The guy had no idea what it meant and laughed right along with us which made the whole thing hilarious. When he finally found out what it meant he was irate. Which made it even funnier. So forgive me if your offended by the word. (I don't think it's offensive but I'm an insensitive jerk so what do I know). It was just on my mind so I had to use it. **


	6. Chapter 6

I stepped out of the car with my best serious face. I was an accessory, I knew that. I was a prop, like a Tommy Gun in his gangster film, or a warrior's shield in his Gladiator movie. I was simply there to sell the story. I didn't have any lines, I wasn't fitted with any special wardrobe, I was simply there. Random pretty girl was my billing. That was enough to sell the illusion that was Chad Ullrich.

Of course people had questions. Chad was always seen with random women, most notably the actress Gretchen Hill, an English woman who up until this very moment had escaped my gaydar. Chad and Gretchen had done what most couples do. Went to awards shows, took vacations together, went to dinner at popular night spots. I'd even seen a photo of them taken on a yacht in People magazine just last week.

When asked who I was by the throng of photographers Chad was gracious enough to give me a name. He referred to me as his 'friend' Quinn. He even made little air quotes when he said the word friend. According to Chad I was the only woman in New York foolish enough not to want to sleep with him. I laughed when he said it and the photographers surrounding us snapped away pictures. I hated to admit it, he was a likeably guy. The more time we spent together the more he grew on me. He was funny and charming, easy on the eyes, and despite his good looks and sex appeal he held absolutely no draw. I didn't want him sexually and despite what he told the crowd of fans and photog's, he didn't want me either. His sexist, bad boy image was all smoke and mirrors. Something to appeal to his macho fans and throw off any scent of doubt about his sexuality.

He walked towards the restaurant and held the door open for me like a gentleman. I gave him a respectful nod as I walked by. Of course he ruined the moment by giving my ass a swat. I turned to glare at him, not actually upset but playing it up for fun.

This was a hell of a way to make it up to Luke for getting drunk and harassing him. When I called to apologize Luke gladly accepted. He told me I could really make it up to him by doing him a solid. One favor to square us up he'd said. I had no idea it was this.

_Do you think we'll end up in the tabloids?_

I don't know. Maybe. Probably.

_I hope we do. That will be cool. Dad will freak. And Frannie. Frannie will be so jealous._

Good. We'll show her who's throwing their life away.

"Thanks for this." Chad said as the door closed behind us, giving us much desired privacy.

"No problem. If it helps you, you can tell everybody we had sex in the bathroom." I said with a smile.

Chad laughed. "I don't think Gretchen will like that."

I didn't understand Hollywood, that was a given I was from Lima Ohio, but Gretchen and Chad breaking up didn't make sense to me. The whole purpose of having a fake relationship was so that people didn't ask questions. Why fake a breakup?

"Where is she anyway?"

"Rome. She's filming a movie. Her partner Patricia wanted exclusivity for this trip. So we publicly broke up."

_That's just stupid. If it's not real what difference does it make? _

"I don't get it." I admitted.

He shrugged. "Me either. Patty's a controlling bitch. She wants Gretchen to go public. She's obsessed with it."

_Go figure. Even celebrities have to deal with the crazy crap girlfriends throw at you. _

"What does Luke think?" I asked him. Seeing as how this was Luke's idea I figured Luke's words carried weight with him.

"He wants me to find another girl and get as far away from G as I can. I don't know though. Gretchen and I have been through a lot together. I'd feel like I was betraying her if I pulled out now. Besides if I do and she comes out, she could out me out of spite. That would ruin everything. Luke says he doesn't care but he loves being a movie star." He laughed easily to himself. "Almost as much as Rachel loves being a Broadway star."

I forgot about that. Revenge.

_Revenge is a strong motivator. Santana taught us that lesson years ago. _

A Maitre' D walked towards us, arm extended, smile polite and professional. "Well here we go." I said looping my arm around his for good measure.

We were led to a table almost in the dead center of the restaurant. I didn't like the placement, everybody was already staring at us, and I could only imagine things would get worse. Chad did his good guy act and pulled out my chair as I sat down. I said a quick thank you so as not to look like an ungrateful bitch and did my best to block out the staring eyes.

This is weird. Everybody's looking at us.

_They aren't looking at us, they're looking at him. They're wondering who we are. The guys are deciding if they want to have sex with us and the girls are deciding if we're hot or not._

Of course we're hot. We've always been hot.

_I know that. But we're with a movie star, of course they're trying to figure out why WE'RE with him instead of them. It's normal._

"So tell me about you and Rachel." He finally said. "You've known each other for a while then?"

"Since high school. I used to tease her mercilessly because I was in love her. I came up with all these horrible nicknames for her."

Chad nodded with a smile. "Man hands."

Oh God, the video. That thing was gonna haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Yes, Man hands. And Rupaul. Treasure Trail, Thing, Stubbles. I had a million of them."

Chad was laughing again. "Rupaul. God were you mean. You remind me of the cheerleaders that used to go to my high school."

"I was head cheerleader for a year and half." I told him.

_Until you got knocked up._

"Really. Is that how you guys met?" He asked.

"No actually we were in the Glee club together."

He laughed even harder. "You were in the Glee club?"

People always laughed at that but the kids from the Glee club were the only true friends I'd ever made. Even Santana and Brittany hadn't actually become my real friends until we bonded in Glee. It was the most fun I'd had in high school.

"I was in the Glee club. I loved it. We won a national Championship in my senior year. It's the most fun I've ever had in my life. Glee club is what first brought me to New York. I came and realized I wanted to come back and stay for good."

"So you're in love with Rachel?" Chad asked. "I mean seriously, not just the kind of love that wants to get her clothes off."

"I want to get her clothes off but I love her too. I want to grow old with her. We're connected in so many ways. If I could make the perfect woman for myself, she'd look a lot like Rachel."

A waiter came over to pass off menu's and tell us the specials. I ordered a light dinner, knowing the eyes watching us would judge me if I pigged out. Chad didn't seem to mind, he ordered a giant steak and mashed potato. Once the waiter walked away Chad offered me a slight nod.

"Have you ever told her this? I mean sat her down, and told her the truth? Took her to dinner, invited her over without trying to get her naked? She wants to trust you. All she does is talk about you. She's just terrified this is just a fling to you and she doesn't have the emotional strength to not let herself get hurt. She's holding back because once she's in she's all in."

_She's scared of us. She thinks we only want her for sex._

Ironic that's just what we thought about her. Are we not being clear about what we want from her?

_I guess not._

"I've told her that I love her. She doesn't believe me."

He stared at me closely as if I were speaking another language. "Have you showed her. Have you sat her down and spoke to her seriously about what she wants out of life? About her goals?"

_That's a no. We spoke about old times. When we did talk about her future, her financial future, she listened. _

"Are you telling me I'm a bad girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "Not bad, inattentive."

Is it a cliché to say we need to do some soul searching?

_Yes, but it's okay because it's true._

~Work~

I stepped into my office building with a copy of the New York Post tucked under my arm and a copy of the Wall Street Journal. The guard at the desk nodded to me and greeted me by name.

Do we know him? What's his name?

_Jeffery._

It is not Jeffery, that's the guy from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

"Ms. Fabray," he said to me with a friendly smile. I wasn't on a first name basis with the guards. They had never spoken to me before today. So as not to seem like a snobby bitch a gave him a friendly nod of my own.

"Good morning."

_We have to learn his name now. _

I continued on towards the elevator sipping lightly on my Grande Pumpkin Latte. The drones milling around the lobby were all giving me the same friendly reception I'd received from the security guards. People who had never spoken to me were addressing me by name now

What the hell is going on? Why is everybody so damn friendly.

_I don't know. The accounts maybe. _

That was days ago.

_Well how the hell am I supposed to know._

It's your job to know. You're supposed to be some kind of business wizard.

"Hey Quinn, nice job getting your name in the paper." One of the traders from the floor said as he sided up beside me. "I always knew you were my biggest competition up there. This has put you over the edge. I officially concede the crown to you."

I had no idea what he was talking about but I couldn't let on. I was supposed to be on top of everything. HSQ's cocky arrogance took over.

"Well it's about Goddamn time." I told him.

He laughed. "I know, I know."

"I'll remember you when I move up in the world Scott. I'm gonna need a few good people."

Scott nodded with interest. "When they give you your own team, I'm your guy."

Are we getting our own team?

_Probably. If Margo moves up, we'll probably get moved into her place. We're being fast tracked remember?_

What the hell does that even mean? Fast tracked to what?

_I don't know everything. It's a good thing. It means more money and security._

"You're on top of my list Scott. You were always my biggest competition too." I told him. Scott was a worker. Ambitious but not overly so that he'll put accounts in jeopardy to make quick money. He produced and was the kind of guy you could count on.

We rode the elevator upstairs to our floor and parted ways without more chat. I was early, early enough to look through the paper and drink my coffee. I got myself situated at my desk and peeled open the business section of the Journal.

Nothing immediate caught my eye and I grabbed the Life and Culture section. The photo took up a large section of the front page. It was me standing with Chad last night at the restaurant. I looked great.

_We always were photogenic. _

Underneath the photo was a caption. Wall street Whiz Kid Quinn Fabray joins the A-crowd?

Whiz Kid? What is this an after school special? Now people are gonna expect us to know stuff.

_Wow, no wonder everybody knows our name now. _

There was a small article underneath that read through my whole bio. NYU, graduating first in my grad school class. It even mentioned my love of theatre. There was also quote from Finance director Mitch O'Hurley where he calls me the future of Wall street. Smart ambitious with connections on and off the street.

Holy crap, he makes us sound like we know what we're doing.

_We do know what we're doing._

We aren't the future of anything. Now people are going to expect things.

_Will you shut up? I have it under control._

No you don't. We aren't ready for this.

"Quinn I see you saw the article." Margo said. She was suddenly behind me again and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

_Creeper._

"Hey boss. Yeah, I don't know about this. It's cool, a glowing recommendation. I'm just not sure if it's warranted."

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Now that you're the person to know, everybody who's anybody will make your acquaintance. There's already a half a dozen messages on your desk."

I looked down at my empty desk then back at her with curiosity.

She laughed. "Not here. This isn't your desk anymore. Your desk is my desk now, I'm in Risk Management."

Risk Management wasn't glamorous. Not unless you ran the place, it was step down.

"RM? Why there?" I asked her.

"Ben Quigley got an offer from Burke-Hallowell. I've been moved into his spot."

Ben Quigley was a VP. If Margo was a VP she was officially one of the big dogs here. She would report directly to O'Hurley. This was a huge promotion for her.

"Congratulations Margo." I said.

She nodded. "Congratulations to you. O'Hurley wants to see you in this position for about a year or so then he's looking to move you to the finance office. He wants you to keep an eye on your team here for now, stay out of trouble and keep your nose clean. In the mean while he wants you to sit for the CPA exam."

The CPA exam?

_Yeah, we do have an accounting degree._

I don't understand what's happening.

_God you're so dense. Leadership. This job is a stepping stone. He wants us in one of the big offices one day. Can you picture us as the VP of Finance?_

No.

"By the time your thirty five, you're looking at being the future of this firm Quinn. One more rung on the ladder and you can write your own ticket. Cindy says if you handle this right you can be CEO one day."

CEO, get out of here. That's bullshit.

_Will you have some confidence? We're good at our job._

Yeah, but CEO. Come on. We can barely run the washing machine in our condo.

_That's not our fault, it has all those buttons. Besides we can afford to hire a maid to come in and do the laundry now. Don't you see, we're almost there. A year, one more rung on the ladder and if we want to leave we can. We can do this for one more year then mission accomplished. _

Mission not accomplished, we still don't have Rachel. All of this was to impress her and we still haven't done that. She still won't be our girlfriend.

_One thing at a time._

"Will you still be available if I have any questions?" I asked her.

She smiled. "Of course. I'm a phone call away."

~Dinner~

I could only avoid Cheryl for so long before she picked up on the fact that there was something wrong. I pushed back calling her until the last possible minute until it was impossible not to without causing suspicion. She was sweet but I wasn't looking forward to her polite coldness. After being run through the emotional gamut with Rachel the idea of giving it all up for Cheryl's cold indifference seemed like a punishment.

We met up for dinner under the pretense of discussing our date to the theatre. I'd been wracking my brain looking for a way to weasel my way out of it. It wasn't that I didn't like Cheryl. I liked her. I just LOVED Rachel. I needed to be with her. I wasn't going to let this thing with Cheryl stand in the way of making the little diva my own.

_Cheryl's only in town for a little while. We don't have to let her stand in the way. She knows we're seeing somebody else. _

Rachel doesn't.

_Why do you always have to be so negative? _

I'm not. I'm just curious if Rachel will be upset if she finds out we're going out with Cheryl.

_We're not going to sleep with Cheryl. We can make it work if we don't sleep with her. _

"So how's your project coming along?" I asked her. We had been sitting here for twenty minutes and had barely said two words to each other. Cheryl seemed more than okay with this. I was bored silly.

"Good. Progress is slow but so goes the law." She took a sip of her wine and looked at me with interest. "So how about you? I heard rumors you pulled in some big accounts."

"Well it wasn't just me. I don't want to brag."

_Sure we do. We kicked ass and took names. We even got a promotion. We should buy a boat._

We're not buying a boat. With our luck it'll sink or we'll get shipwrecked on some island. And we won't have Evangeline Lily in tight jeans and tank tops to look at like on Lost.

"Don't be modest. I was at the office the other day and I saw Chad Ullrich and Luke Rafferty walking around. They had a girl with them. She was really pretty."

_If she makes a move for Rachel I'm pulling all her hair out._

I'll help.

"That's Rachel Berry."

Cheryl's eyes seemed to glimmer for a second then it faded. "Rachel. As in your Rachel."

I nodded. "We went to high school together. I told you about her."

Cheryl took another sip of wine and she met my eyes. There was no hint of emotion in her face. "Yes. You did." Her attention went back to her wine.

Is that it? Nothing. No questions, no comments? Nothing at all? Not even a smidge of jealousy?

_She doesn't care. _

See this is why we can't be with her. We need more than a small acknowledgement. We need passion. I bet if we told Rachel about Cheryl she'd have a million questions.

_We had questions about Luke. How could Cheryl not have questions about Rachel? She has to care. Even if it's just a little bit._

She doesn't care. That's why we didn't go to Chicago. Because we'd spend the next fifty years together being polite. I want to be in love. I want somebody to love me. I don't want to be with somebody because they'll have me. It's not fair to me.

_You sure have a lot of demands Ms. Diva. If you care so much about Rachel why didn't you ask her one question about Luke? She probably doesn't even think you care. You went from her mentioning him to telling her how badly you wanted to get her into bed again._

The comment struck me like fist. We hadn't asked any questions about Luke. She'd brought him up several times and we didn't ask her anything about him. She must think we're some closed off emotionless robot. She thinks we're Cheryl. We're acting like Brittany's TV robot girl.

_Ooh, Ooh, this is what she wants. She wants us to prove we care about her by being jealous._

No. She doesn't want us to be jealous. That's kind of childish.

_It's not. What were we doing on the video? We were being a jerk to Luke. We were asking Rachel why she was with him. We were asking her why it couldn't just be us and her. We were showing her we cared. She said we asked all the right questions that night._

Why would she want us to be jealous of Luke, he's gay?

_So what. She doesn't know we know that. At least she didn't until we called him a pretty boy twink. That's why she's nice to us again._

I don't know.

_Oh come on. Trust me, she did everything but hang a sign around her neck. She wanted us to ask about Luke. That's why she kept telling us that he's not 'that kind of boyfriend' she wants us to know she's still available but we haven't bothered asking her yet. If we're in love with her we'd care that she has a boyfriend. _

I stared across the table at Cheryl. She seemed perfectly content with things the way they were. Would she care that I'm with somebody I loved? Would it matter to her that I loved Rachel more than I liked her.

_Probably not. _

"Cheryl why did you go out with me?" I asked her. "Back in college I mean."

She looked at me as if trying to decipher what I meant. She finally came to some sort of internal conclusion and answered me with carefully chosen words. "Because you seemed nice. You were self sufficient. Emotionally I mean. And you needed me. You needed help and I wanted to help you." She sipped her wine. "And look at you, you turned out okay."

"So you wanted to take care of me?"

She nodded. "I suppose so."

"Is my career important to you? Not this career necessarily but a career in general. Is it important that whoever you're with have a career?"

She thought it over again, something inside me told me that she was going to lie to me.

"It's okay if the answer is no. My feelings won't be hurt." Hopefully this will get the truth out of her.

_We know the truth. She was going to lie to us and say yes. She asked us questions because she knew it was important to us. She didn't really care what the answers were._

"Well, honestly, no. I didn't really want you working. I would have preferred it if you stayed home and took care of things. My favorite nights were the ones where you made us dinner and we watched TV. You know I would have taken very good care of you. You would have had everything you needed."

_She wants a trophy wife. Who do we know who wants to be a trophy wife?_

Liz.

_Liz probably has another girlfriend by now. Girls like Liz don't stay single long._

Yeah, how many rich lesbians do you know looking for trophy wives? I bet she'd agree to meet Cheryl if we were honest with her.

_Honest, honest? Like tell her the truth honest?_

Yeah. Why not?

_Honesty isn't our thing. We're sneaky and devious. _

And alone. We need to be honest. With Cheryl, with Rachel, with Liz, everybody.

"Cheryl can I say something without you getting offended?" I asked.

_Cheryl get offended. That would be the day._

"Sure Quinn." She said. Her eyes scrunched up as if she were expecting some vicious slam.

"I think we may be looking for different things. I like you, I always have. Life was easy with you, you made me feel safe when I really needed to be safe. I love you so much for that, it was important to me. You practically made me what I am today and for that I'll be grateful. But at the end of the day we're too similar. We're better off as friends."

Something flashed across her face, something that looked a lot like emotion but it was just a flash. "I don't know what to say. I thought we wanted the same things."

I shook my head. Honesty was a bitch.

"We do. But I want somebody else. Somebody who drives me insane with worry and stress but it's what I want. I don't want to lead you on. You mean too much to me for me to do that to you."

She sighed. "I don't understand why I keep having this problem."

_Because you're a cyborg._

Stop it. We like Cheryl.

"I don't want to insult you but I dated a girl who wants what you want. She's everything you're looking for."

Cheryl seemed skeptical.

"She's pretty too. She used to be a model. She'd be perfect for you. She's not looking for a career, she's looking for security. She's a really sweet girl but she wasn't right for me. She wants to be a stay at home mom."

This seemed to pique her interest. "Is she single?"

"We broke up a few weeks ago but I'm pretty sure she's not serious with anyone yet. How about I set you up on a date with her?"

She smiled at me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her smile. "Are you doing this out of pity?"

_Yes._

"No. I'm doing it because we're friends and I love you. I want you to be happy. And my ex Elizabeth is perfect for you."

"Okay set it up."

It was music to my ears. I decided not to wait, couldn't. I dug my phone out of my pocket and sent Liz a text.

**Would you be interested in going out with somebody? They're exactly what you're looking for.**

Liz texted me back five minutes later.

**Is she pretty? Does she have her career on track?**

_Same old Liz. Gotta love her._

**Of course, she's a lawyer. She's my ex and she's looking for somebody to take care of her after a long day at the office. She wants a homebody.**

**Set it up. **She sent back.

_Good job E-Harmony, now we need to work out our own stuff. We need to talk to Rachel._

Easier said than done.

_Well honesty worked on Cheryl. Maybe we should try it on Rachel._

Oh so now you're on my side?

_Who else's side would I be on?_


	7. Chapter 7

Why are you obsessed with buying a boat all of a sudden?

_It's called a yacht. Rich people have yachts. And I'm not obsessed. I want to enjoy life. A boat is a wonderful way to show the world we've made it. _

You just want to send pictures to daddy to rub it in. He always wanted a boat but never bought one.

_I want to learn to drive it. And if we can make him feel bad in the process then that's just a bonus._

You don't drive it, you sail it.

_Whatever._

No boat. At least not yet. Once we hit our million dollar goal we'll get a bigger place. We can justify that. Besides if we're gonna settle down with Rachel we have to have a new place to do it in. Somewhere we can call our own.

_Hey U-hauler, we haven't even convinced her to be our girlfriend yet. You're already moving us in together. _

My cell phone chimed in my hand. I'd been holding it for the past twenty minutes hoping I could build up the courage to call Rachel and pour my heart out to her. Being honest was a pain in the ass. It worked out for me with Cheryl but I couldn't imagine my luck would hold with Rachel.

I checked the caller ID. Frannie.

_What the hell does she want?_

Probably to ask questions. Everybody we know has been asking us questions since those pictures went up on TMZ of us having dinner with Chad.

_Answer it. See what she wants. _

"Hello." I said. It had been months since I'd spoken with my big sister. These days she avoided me like the plague. When I told her I was gay she told me I was throwing my life away and practically disowned me.

Okay not really. Unlike my father she still kept in contact. She wrote letters and sent emails. Sent cards at Christmas time, pictures of the kids. I could count the number of times we'd actually spoken on one hand but she at least made an effort. I hadn't spoken to my father since I'd told him I was gay.

_We keep in contact. When we bought our condo we sent him a picture._

Only to show him that our place costs more than his.

_It does. It cost twice as much as the house we grew up in. Three times as much even. Just thought he should know that since he didn't think we'd ever amount to anything._

"Quinn. Hey, it's your sister."

_No shit._

"Hey Frannie what's going on?"

"Quinn hey. I was just calling to see how you were."

I laughed to myself.

_Sure you are._

"I'm doing great. I just got a huge promotion at work."

"Really, that's great. I mean it's really great. A friend of mine said she saw a picture of you on the internet with Chad Ullrich. You were going out to dinner together. You never told me you knew him."

I knew it. I knew she'd be jealous.

"Yeah, he's just a good friend."

"So you guys aren't dating. Somebody said he wanted to have sex with you."

Nice of her to cut to the chase.

"Of course he does, he's a guy. Guys want to have sex with pretty girls."

She paused for a beat. "Did you do it?"

Great now she thinks I'm a slut.

"No. I didn't."

"Why not?" She asked me.

_And we're the slut?_

"Because I barely know him. And he's a guy. I'm gay Frannie. I don't sleep with men."

Frannie sighed. "Quinn I've been really accepting about your lifestyle but when a rich and handsome movie star wants to be with you there's no reason for you to turn him down. You're being crazy. I understand you find women attractive but you have to be practical. You should be with him. Mom and I think you should be with him."

_Oh well why don't I just rush on over with a box of condoms and a six pack of Coors light._

I appreciate the advice but I won't be getting freaky with Chad.

"Frannie. I'm sorry but this isn't up for discussion." I told her.

"Quinn just hear me out. Dad said being with Chad is the right thing to do. He said this is the way we can bring our family back together. If you do this he'll welcome you home."

_Oh well why don't I just pack a bag._

Stop it. Stop being snide.

_What, are we supposed to just drop everything because dad says so? _

No I'm just saying maybe we should listen.

_Listen to what? These people abandoned us. They threw us out on the street then turned their backs on us because of something that won't effect their lives at all. Us being gay doesn't matter to them in the least. We're victims of these people. Just because we're related doesn't make them family. Family doesn't abandon you. We're sticking to the plan._

Fine.

_Say it. Say it until you mean it. _

We're sticking to the plan. We're sticking to the plan.

_Good. Now finish this phone call and let's call Rachel. _

What are we gonna say?

_At this point it doesn't matter. We just have to get her to agree to see us._

~The next night~

I hated having dinner at swanky restaurants. Everything was always so stiff and cold. It reminded me of having dinner at my nanna's house when I was a kid. My nanna was a perfectionist who had to have everything just so. Expensive silverware, fancy napkins and a tasteful centerpiece. The woman even made me and my sister wear dresses. I hated every second of it and stepping into a place like this took me back to that helpless place as a kid.

"Ms. Fabray, it's a pleasure to have you join us." The hostess said the second I walked through the door. I had no idea how she knew who I was. It had been happening everywhere I went these past few days. People were greeting me by name, speaking to me as if we were old friends. Asking me about things they shouldn't know. It was unnerving.

"Thank you." I said politely. I felt hands on my shoulder pulling carefully at my jacket and almost jumped out of my skin.

"Please excuse me madam." A man said as he pulled my jacket off and headed away. He didn't give me a chit or receipt for the coat check and I wondered how I'd get it back.

Is he gonna steal our coat? I love that coat.

_He's not going to steal it. Will you relax. We're supposed to be fitting in._

"Right this way please." The hostess said as she walked off without waiting for me to respond.

As much as I despised eating at places like this I couldn't help but be thrilled by the ambiance. The place was a who's who of society and business. Half of the faces I recognized from the financial pages of the city's various publications and the rest were the snobby types with the million dollar penthouses and names like Rockefeller and, van der Woodsen.

_Didn't we go to high school with a girl named van der Woodsen?_

That's not a real person, she's a character on Gossip Girl.

Most of the snobs ignored me as I walked through to reach my table. I knew their reputations but didn't know any of them. The others smiled politely and gave me respectful nods. Most of these were movers and shakers. Wall street players who felt the need to make new friends and new connections everyday. My type of people.

I was ten feet away from my table when I heard a spine chilling voice call out to me. "Grace Kelly?" I recognized the voice right away and my stomach turned.

_Oh my God. Not him. Anybody but him. _

Only one person has ever called us Grace Kelly.

I turned and came eye to eye with Jesse St. James. He still looked the same, handsome with his patented slightly askew brown hair and blue eyes. He smirked when he saw me and I waited for him to say something snarky.

_Great, all we need when we're trying to woo Rachel. Her ex-boyfriend._

"Jesse St. James. What on Earth are you doing here? I thought you were ruling the European circuit with an iron fist."

Jesse had done some Broadway work but had managed to find a career for himself overseas. He was huge in the Paris and London theatre circuits and from what I heard he had won all sorts of awards. The last place I ever expected to find him was back in the states.

He was on his feet and embracing me in a hug that made me uncomfortable but I didn't fight him off.

"It's great to see you. It's been how many years?" He asked me.

Since we'd lost Nationals our Junior year of high school actually.

"Oh years and years. Welcome back to the states."

He turned his attention to the young woman sitting with him at the table. "Excuse me Your Highness forgive my rudeness. Allow me to present Quinn Fabray Wall Street's future master of the universe. Quinn and I went to high school together believe it or not. And Quinn allow me to present to you Her Royal Highness Princess Amelie, of the Kingdom of Sweden."

_Quick. Bow. _

Bow?

_Yes. Royalty. Bow, now._

Remembering that women didn't actually bow they curtsied I showed my proper respect and received a polite nod from the princess.

_What the hell is St. James doing with a Princess? That kid could get sent to Hell and come out licking an ice cream cone._

"Pleasure to meet you Your Highness." I said. I didn't want to say anything else in risk of embarrassing myself so I turned my attention back to Jesse. "So are you in town for a show?"

Jesse looked towards the Princess and shook his head slowly. "Actually no. I was asked to escort Her Highness to the United States by His Majesty the King. She wanted to see the sights and experience some American culture. We're actually going to be seeing Rachel's show when it opens."

Interesting. "Really? She's coming here as a matter of fact. We're having dinner. She should be here in a moment."

The Princess's face lit up. "Oh you must join us."

I looked towards Jesse for approval and he nodded eagerly. "Her Highness is a great admirer of Rachel's work. She saw her two years ago in Victor-Anna and was quite taken."

_That settles it then. _

I looked over to the hostess who had stopped walking but was clearly paying very close attention to the conversation.

"My party and myself will be joining Her Highness for dinner."

The hostess nodded and on her way past stopped to give the princess a curtsy of her own. Half the room was watching now and I could hear the whispers. Nothing like royalty to draw attention.

By the time Rachel showed up I was on pins and needles. I knew nothing about Sweden and up until tonight didn't know they had a King. I spent most of the time catching up with Jesse while he casually asked about the rest of the Glee club. He asked specifically about Finn, his high school nemesis for Rachel's affection, and when I told him he was still in Lima running Mr. Hummel's auto repair business Jesse smiled. I didn't tell him that Finn had managed to expand the business and with Kurt's help had opened a second location.

Rachel showed up to the table and immediately gave the Princess a bow, which by now had become the thing to do. Half the diners in the place had stopped to bow as they exited. Rachel did so gracefully then gave Jesse a polite smooch on the cheek. I'd been able to send her a warning text to let her know our intimate dinner plans had changed and when she finally showed up she didn't look as if she minded.

_This sucks. We can't tell her we love with a princess and Jesse at the table_.

We'll take her home and tell her then.

_It's better anyway, more private I suppose._

Rachel surprised me by leaning into me and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. It was light and fast but it told me everything I needed to know. She cared for me and wasn't ashamed of it. I had to do this tonight.

~Rachel's house~

"I'm sorry about tonight. I saw Jesse, and the Princess was a fan of yours and asked if we'd join her for dinner. I didn't know she was going to be so chatty."

Rachel laughed. "It's okay. I'm just surprised to see Jesse with her. The guy has the strangest luck with women. I'm not sure what it is about him that women find so attractive."

That's funny seeing as how she dated him.

"What did YOU like about him?" I asked her.

"I was attracted to his talent more than anything. He's handsome but that's not really what it was about for me."

I nodded but my mind was starting to wander. Questions about me and Rachel were taking over my mind. I had to get this off my chest. It had been killing me all night.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded as she slung her jacket over a nearby chair. She was once again wearing a dress designed to take to my breath away. My eyes poured over her body and I had to force myself to stay on track. Sex was bad. At least right now. I want more than her body.

"Go ahead." She said with a chipper tone I wasn't expecting.

"What is it you want from this? Me and you I mean. Are you looking to settle down?"

I could tell by her reaction she wasn't expecting the question. She froze in place, her brow scrunched, and she began to bite the corner of her lip.

"I'd like to settle down one day." She answered.

_She's avoiding the question. Remember what Chad said, she's afraid we're going to hurt her. Keep going. Keep pressing her._

"Rachel I like you. A lot. I know I've made a mess of things but I may be in love with you. And I don't say that lightly. I want to make plans with you. Spend time with you. I always have. Since I met you I've wanted us to be together."

Rachel was staring at me with a look of something that resembled awe on her face. I didn't ease up.

"I want it to be you and me. Hearing you were with Luke hurt me. It hurt me but I didn't want you to see that. When I figured out it was just a sham I didn't think it mattered but it does. I want you to know that it matters to me. You being with him matters to me, even if it isn't real."

She finally smiled. "What's come over you?"

"I want to be with you. I want to share my life with you. I don't want to have to worry about Luke's career."

"Quinn Luke's my friend. I love him like a brother but he wouldn't want to stand in the way of me making a life for myself. He's my best friend."

_Of course Luke's a great guy. Why wouldn't he be?_

"Tell me what you want from me. Tell me what I have to do to make you mine. I'll do anything."

Her smile fell away and I could see concern come to her face. "Promise me, promise me I'll always be your one and only. Promise me you won't hurt me."

_I'll handle this. You'll just screw it up. _

"I promise to put you first. I promise you'll come before everything and everybody in my life. Money, my job, my friends. I promise that if I do hurt you, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I promise I'll always take care of you."

I could see the concern in her face melt away. "Do you mean that? Don't just say it. I want to believe you but if I give myself to you and you don't mean it it'll kill me."

_She's afraid of us. Still._

"Why are you afraid I'll hurt you? You're scared of me. Why?"

She began to shake her head. "It's going to sound silly."

"Try me." I urged her.

She sighed again. "I don't know. It always feels like you're holding something back. That first night we were together you were so free. You took charge of things and made me yours. It was like you didn't care about anything. Then the second night it was like you were a different person. It wasn't bad but it felt like you held back. It's almost like you're two different people sometimes." She began to shake her head. "This is going to sound crazy but that day I came to your office I spied on you. I spied on you and it was like seeing the Quinn I love. Bossy, a bit of a bitch, arrogant. It felt like home again. Then you spoke to me in the bathroom and it all went away."

Oh my God she does want you.

_I knew it. She loves me. I always knew she did. Suck it! _

"Rachel I was never nice to you back home. How could you want me to treat you that way again? I don't understand. Explain it to me."

"When you were drunk you told me you learned how to be nice to win me over. I don't need that. I want you to be yourself. You don't have to pretend for me. I never took the mean things you said to heart. You may not remember this but the one thing you gave me back in Lima was honesty. Sure you were a bitch about it but you always told me the truth. You believed in me. Do you remember when you told me I didn't belong with Finn because I was bigger than Lima and would make something of myself one day? That day changed my life. I cried but I knew you were right. That gave me the strength to go after my goals. I always doubted myself before that day. Could I really make it? Was I good enough? That all stopped that day at the piano. I'm here now because of you."

I remember. I remember it was ME saying those profound things to her.

_Details, details. _

"Rachel I'm just afraid I'm going to do something to hurt you. Say something to hurt your feelings."

She laughed. "Don't. Don't worry about that. I don't need anybody else telling me how great I am. I want somebody who'll stand out on my front stoop and tap dance Man Hands." She pressed her hand against my chest. "Is she still in there?"

I leaned into her and gave her a kiss. "Of course she is Rupaul."

Rachel laughed. "Good. Because I miss her. She's who I want to be with."

~One Year Later~

"Move your ass beautiful we're gonna be late." I yelled up to Rachel.

Rachel had been getting dressed for the past twenty minutes and as much I appreciated how hot she always looked, I hated being late.

"I can't find anything up here. You keep moving my stuff."

I told you to leave her stuff alone.

_She likes it when we give her a hard time. She pretends to be annoyed but she loves it when we hassle her. Hiding her stuff is how I say I love you._

You two are so sick together.

_I don't need your approval smarty pants, Rachel's love will keep me warm thank you very much._

"I can't help it you have so much stuff. You wanted a walk-in closet and I got it for you. I even filled it with nice stuff. You want me to organize it too?" I teased.

"This place is way too big Quinn. I can never find anything. There's like six closets and you keep hiding my shoes." Rachel yelled down at me.

"Check the pink bedroom." I finally relented. It was fun hiding her things but only if it didn't make her late for anything and today we were almost definitely late.

Last month we'd made the leap and moved in together. We'd searched all over the Upper East Side for the perfect home to start a life together and finally settled on a brownstone Co-op near my old place. Despite the sluggish real estate market my place wasn't on the market two days before somebody made an offer. I even made a nice chunk of change on the sale, more than enough to make a comfortable down payment on a new place. Rachel's place never actually went on the market. She sold it to one of her Broadway friends without even having to advertise. She didn't make much on it but that wasn't the point. We were just happy to be out from under it.

"I found them." She yelled down to me.

"Great, now let's get it moving. Shake a leg."

"You know you're not doing yourself any favors by rushing me. I don't see the appeal of us going anyway."

Rachel had been complaining about this all month long. Having to sit through a lesbian wedding was bad enough. Having to sit through one involving two of my exes was even worse. Cheryl and Liz were rounding off their emotionless union with a tasteful ceremony and reception at the Palace. I didn't mind going but Rachel was against making an appearance. I finally convinced her to go by explaining that it was only by being faced with the possibility of a life with Cheryl that I realized I was ready to move things forward with her. Besides I was the Best Man AND the Maid of honor so I couldn't not show up.

"Free food babe. Besides Cheryl did all of our legal work for free."

"Well I'll be glad when it's over."

"I'll be glad when you get down here so we can leave babe."

I can't believe she likes you more than me. You're terrible.

_Jealous?_

Yes.

_Good._

"Okay, okay, I'm ready." Rachel said as she made her way down the stairs. She looked perfect in her light blue designer dress. The missing shoes, a pair she'd spent an obscene amount of money on last weekend, were now on her feet.

"You look great sweetheart." I reassured her.

"Better than I looked for Brittany and Santana's wedding?" She asked.

Careful, it's a trick question.

_Well answer it smarty pants._

"You look more beautiful every day I see you Rachel."

She smiled satisfied with my answer.

See.

_Fine, you were right. You still suck._

"Let's go." She finally said. "You know only for you will I sit around and be happy for two people you've had sex with."

"If it makes you feel any better I broke up with them. I needed to find Mrs. Right."

She smirked. "It helps. A little bit. I'm just a little tired of going to all these weddings."

"Well we have at least one more. After that I promise we don't have to do anymore if you don't want to. I swear."

Rachel looked at me confused. "Who else is getting married?"

"We are. I mean if you'll have me."

I dug into the my pocket and pulled out the ring I'd bought her. A custom made piece from Tiffany's that I knew Rachel would love. I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing. Ever since I'd gotten together with Rachel things had been going my way. I'd been promoted twice. I was well past my financial goal. And after having my picture taken with a Hollywood star and a Princess I was officially somebody to know. Rachel's Broadway show was a hit and she'd recently been nominated for a Tony Award. Rumor had it she was the favorite to win. I was on cloud nine.

You should have gotten down on one knee.

_Boys do that. _

I thought we were supposed to be butch. That would make us the boy wouldn't it?

_No._

Whatever. You still should have at least tried to be romantic.

_I let you handle the ring. Shut up now please._

"What?" Rachel asked. Her head was still spinning from my revelation.

Remember, be romantic.

_Fine. _

"Rachel Berry will you make me the happiest woman in New York and spend the rest of your life with me?"

When she smiled and looked down at the ring I knew I had her.

"Of course I will."

You got lucky.

_WE got lucky. I'll share her with you. You've earned it._

The end.

**Please forgive my sloppy plotting. I got halfway through the story before I realized I wasn't headed in any particular direction story wise. Because of this the plot is a bit thin and unfocused. In any case I consider it a comedy so I figure you'll all give me a pass. I hope you enjoyed it in any case. I really wanted to write something light and fun after Zero, Thirty-seven, Nine. That story was so heavy and dark it felt right to do something fun next. This was more of an experiment for me. I really wanted to see if I could write, funny, and by the response I got I'm encouraged. I could use some work but I know I can get there. Thank you all for reading and keep your eyes peeled for something new from me. ~Empty Pen 09~**


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